DARKNESS RISING (2017) (Blu-ray Review)

DARKNESS RISING (2017)

Label: IFC Midnight/Scream Factory 
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 81 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Surround 5.1, Stereo 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Austin Reading 
Cast: Tara Holt, Bryce Johnson, Katrina Law, Ted Raimi

In evil-house horror Darkness Rising (2017) we have twenty-something Madison (Tara Holt, TV's Z Nation) returning to her childhood home where a vicious murder resulted in her becoming an orphan over twenty years ago. In the dead of night she and her significant other Jake (Bryce Johnson, Willow Creek) and cousin Izzy (Katrina Law, TV's Arrow) break into the long abandoned home to... well, I'm not quite sure why she returns, to revisit her traumatic past I guess. One thing I know for sure, her cousin Izzy came along to loot a leather jacket that once belonged to Madison's mom, which she apparently remembers from when she was three!

This standard issue evil-house thriller recycles a lot from better evil/scare-house movie to a far lesser degree, the plot meanders along near pointlessly as the cast sleepwalk through it all, occasionally screaming hysterically, making poor life choices and babbling awful dialogue. The limp attempts to illicit scares and a modicum of atmosphere involve a ferocious demon-dog, creepy kids, possession, a supernatural force field trapping them in the house, eyeless dolls and an undeveloped mythology involving the number five, but it all adds up to nothing worth watching ever again, at just eighty-minute long this was a true slog of a watch.

Of possible note to horror fans we have Ted Raimi (Intruder) showing up for a bookend cameo, and there's some decent practical gore and Evil Dead style possession special effects, but there's nothing her story wise that would make me want to ever sit through this evil/demonic house flick again. This is another classic one and done from IFC Midnight, avoid it - there are so many better films to spend time with, life is too short for this sort of mediocrity. 

Audio/Video: Darkness Rising (2017) arrives on Blu-ray/DVD Combo from Scream Factory in conjunction with IFC Midnight framed in 1.78:1 widescreen. Audio options include both English DTS-HD MA 2.0 and 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles. The only extra on the disc is a trailer for the film and previews for other IFC Midnight titles. This is a 2-disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo release comes housed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with a with a sleeve of reversible artwork - both are hideous. The disc themselves are adorned with separate images from the film. 

Darkness Rising (2017) is as generic as the  title (and artwork) warns, but if you're still wanting to check this one out it is currently streaming on Netflix. IFC Midnight are very hit and miss for me, for every winner like The Devil's Candy (2015)there's always two or three more stinkers like The Devil's Dolls (2016), but at least you can watch them on Netflix without committing to a upfront purchase.