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Reign in Darkness (2002 Video)
1/10
I want this part of my brain back
15 January 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Yes, it's the hate-child of Matrix and Blade. Yes, the acting, plot, dialog, directing, action sequences, etc., etc. are ALL bad. It's all true.

Like another reviewer mentioned, I simply refuse to stop watching a video I've rented. I have NEVER quit, no matter how bad the film is. Before this, the crappy 'Legion of the Dead' (a 'From Dusk Till Dawn' wannabe) was at the top of my worst movie list. Now it shares that spot with 'Reign in Darkness'.

The only thing good about this movie is the very occasional good squib hit or interesting gunshot.

A few other points not yet brought up... I knew immediately upon seeing this that it was produced on video. The young filmmakers simply do not know how to create depth of field on video. It shows, giving the entire 'film' a very cheap look. Watch 'Starship Troopers 2' or '28 Days Later' for good looking digital photography. It can be done, just not by Rapidfire Productions.

Graffiti. It's all over the place, and it sucks. It's not interesting New York graffiti. I went to art college briefly with a NY graffiti artist. His stuff was really cool. The crap scrawled in the backgrounds of the scenes in this movie is BAD. But, considering everything else, what's to be expected from this film.

Swords. Oh dear GOD! SOMEONE teach these folks how to do convincing on-screen sword fights. I've seen much better stuff on Atomfilm by 13-year-olds. One of the guys is using a fantasy sword, like you get out of cheesy catalogs.

Yes, I sat through the whole movie. No, it doesn't get any better. I had to stop it 2/3 of the way through to control my anger. These young movie makers don't know how to build character in the movie. They don't know how to move plot forward. I have told others in the past that I sometimes wish I could remove the memory of watching a bad movie, and simply replace it with a little note saying 'This movie stunk, memory reclaimed'. This is not the fun bad that 'Evil Dead' is. This is not the entertaining bad of 'Toxic Avenger'. This is just irredeemably bad. That anyone gave this a positive review shows that someone somewhere will like a film you make, no matter how horrible.
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