Alone in the Dark
Private sleuth Edward Carnby (Christian Slater) specializes in weird supernatural phenomena. Now, a great mystery of his past is about to become his most dangerous case. With the help of his ex-girlfriend, archaeologist Aline Cedrac (Tara Reid), and his rival, government agent Richard Burke (Stephen Dorff), Carnby learns that just because you scoff at something, that doesn't mean it won't pose a dangerous threat.
Member Reviews
Awful.... - joshy
If your renting this in hopes of getting a glimpse of Tara Reid her part in this movie is very small, and not exciting. This has to be one of the most boring movies I have ever watched. The acting was bad, the story sucked, and I just about shut it off....Don't waste your time with this movie.What is frightening is just how awful this film is - Baboonvideo
ZIP-WORTHY IF: You are a glutton for punishment.
REVIEW: So just how bad is Alone in the Dark? For starters, there is the unwieldy opening text scrawl that fails to make the film any less coherent. Then move to the unlikely casting of bubble-headed Tara Reid as an academic (snicker snicker), the truly gaudy not-so-special effects and the realization that Christian Slater and Stephen Dorff actually give two of the worst performances of their careers (that's saying something for people with films like 1991's Mobsters and 2002's Feardotcom on their resumes).
What put the icing on the cake for me was about three-quarters through when a female government agent is killed by a monster and then, as the other agents leave the scene, she unmistakably lifts her head. Was director Uwe Boll (2003's excruciating House of the Dead) and his editor cutting this thing in complete darkness? Perhaps this would explain the many ding-dong moves throughout Alone in the Dark.
Slater plays a former FBI agent for an government agency who is obsessed with finding an explanation for the mysteries of his past, mysteries that are supposedly linked to government experiments and an ancient alien race. All they are really linked to is a worthless attempt to cash in on everything from Alien to X-Files to Dawn of the Dead.What Rubbish! - Hollywood
Starring Christian Slater as a heavily squinting paranormal investigator trying to stop creatures from taking over the world, Alone in the Dark tries to pull off an X-Files conspiracy thriller and Aliens rip-off into popcorn entertainment and fails horribly at both. It all goes awry from the beginning, literally. As the text scrolls up the screen to lay out the groundwork for the story – about a Native American tribe finding a portal between the dark and light world – an endless stream of exposition spews forth, proving the writers (all three of them!) were either too lazy or simply inept at intelligently telling their story. After the fourth paragraph passes you can’t help but laugh at the total stupidity of the process, including the overly dramatic voiceover most likely used in case the intended audience didn’t know how to read.
After the introductory essay, masquerading as background information, we are saddled with an extended action sequence introducing our hero. It is here that it is glaringly apparent that Uwe knows nothing of pacing, editing, and character motivation. Bullets rip through the air in a faux Matrix style bullet time, shady wire work is laughably overused and clumsy slow motion all conspire against the merits of Uwe’s directorial abilities, and in the end the scene is utterly pointless. Sadly, this is nothing compared to Tara Reid’s “performance” as a wide-eyed scientist helping translate the ancient writings used by the Native tribe. How do we know she’s a respected and intelligent scientist? Her hair is pulled back in a conservative bun and she wears black-rimmed glasses. Oh, if it were only so easy!
The only bright spot is Steven Dorff’s character, Richard Burke, a government agent hell bent on tracking the monsters. Dorff mistakes emotion as a license to scream, kick, and swear in almost every scene he’s in, rendering his performance as unintentionally hilarious.
Member Reviews
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Awful.... - joshy
If your renting this in hopes of getting a glimpse of Tara Reid her part in this movie is very small, and not exciting. This has to be one of the most boring movies I have ever watched. The acting was bad, the story sucked, and I just about shut it off....Don't ...What is frightening is just how awful this film is - Baboonvideo
ZIP-WORTHY IF: You are a glutton for punishment.
REVIEW: So just how bad is Alone in the Dark? For starters, there is the unwieldy opening text scrawl that fails to make the film any less coherent. Then move to the unlikely casting of bubble-headed ...What Rubbish! - Hollywood
Starring Christian Slater as a heavily squinting paranormal investigator trying to stop creatures from taking over the world, Alone in the Dark tries to pull off an X-Files conspiracy thriller and Aliens rip-off into popcorn entertainment and fails horribly ...