Out of Darkness

"Out Of Darkness" amounts to a vacuous "X-Files" rip-off on par with those cringe-inducing DIY "Star Trek" episodes springing up online like so much crabgrass. Another instance of somebody with a camera and zero originality. In this case, there's no discernible talent, either.

Dying to be pretentious, this mess fails to reach any level of competence. More inept than amateurish, the show's not even "fun" terrible but instead simply unwatchable. Basic flaw is the show doesn't make sense, except maybe to the auteur writer/director. Other flaws include, well, everything else.

Definitely recommend watching "Out Of Darkeness," but not for positive reasons. See how much you can stomach before giving up completely. And mourn for the local Cleveland film-making community.

While everyone is welcome to comment on the TV show, I did find the other single comment quite "interesting." I would dare not take away anyone's freedom of speech regardless of how much I disagreed with it. Again, everyone is entitled to their opinion. The show can be seen online at http://groups.myspace.com/welcome2darkness/

Some people get the show and some don't. Some like it and some do. That is the way it is with any production.

Again, everyone is free to make their own decisions and not be held to the opinion of anyone else.

I wish to thank the people who worked on the show with me. There are some elements in the show that are not explained and I won't spoil here by going into detail about them. Let's just say, there are a lot of loose ends that are further explained in the next few episodes. So, watch, and think for yourself.

Sincerely, Alex P. Michaels

Quite possibly the worst "show" (I'm using show in the broadest sense of the word, as it was on film) that I have ever seen. I can't believe this guy won an Emmy for writing...were there a lot of ghost writers around? None of the actors can act, the exposition is shitty, not to mention the horrible writing and camera work.

In short - the films you made as a 4 year old filming a butterfly were probably better then whatever this crap was.

Don't be fooled by the the "directors" credits.

And do NOT waste your time with watching this horrible excuse for a TV show unless you have absolutely nothing better to do and the only other activity up for grabs is putting a bullet in your head.

Saw the show on the air and I really had a hard time following it, but I saw something I liked in it. I think a real budget would have helped but I did like the DVD better. They added a few scenes and the story made more sense. I really liked the scene in the first episode with the two girls fighting but I was upset that this cop didn't show up more in the show. I don't want to spoil the show but the third episode was really surprising. I connected with one of the characters and was not ready for what happened to them.

I'm a Cleveland native, so it was cool to see a lot of the city. I liked the main spot where the cops hung out at (the bakery Lucy's Sweet Surrender). I went there one day and bumped into the owner who showed up in the show. It's really tiny in real life but they have good food.

The shows ended on a sad note but I wouldn't mind seeing more.

Giving it 2 stars, but only because the idea has some merit, somewhere in there. But it was pretty unwatchable for one main reason: production values. Tinny/hissy audio, flat lighting, off-kilter framing, stilted/hesitant dialogue, choppy editing, unskilled camera handling - painful to witness. That litany of distractions alone simply prevents one from concentrating on the gruel-thin narrative. People expect a certain threshold of quality, and it's just not here. Director desperately needs some Production 101 remedial courses, or at least he might show rushes to media-folk who know the what's expected and can offer direction. But even after that, I hope the director takes another run at the idea, this time honoring the medium by getting the basics right.