Shot on video in Australia with a distinct lack of scope and talent, the biggest problem with REIGN IN DARKNESS is the script. Instead of coming up with something halfway original, it gives us a rip off of both BLADE and THE MATRIX, featuring vampires running around a city in dark clothing and taking part in gun battles and fights. The film is so slavishly derivative to everything that's come before I wonder why the filmmakers bothered – it's obvious they're not going to be able to emulate either of those Hollywood films on this kind of budget, so why even try? The annoying thing is that I'm sure they could have at least made a more watchable film had they gone for something different.
For anyone not familiar with shot-on-video epics, the problems are numerous: the acting is often wooden, the dialogue delivered in a way that would make your local amateur dramatics group cringe. This one features Australians putting on a variety of American accents. The direction is pedestrian and the fight scenes – well, they don't even register. Forget any semblance of characterisation, motivation or continuity. The special effects are negligent – not even any rubbishy CGI stuff to laugh at – and I get the impression that the filmmakers ran out of what little money they did have, as later on we get a few people chatting in a dark room for about ten minutes before the credits roll. Not the most exciting of endings, then.
At the end of the day, if you want to watch this sort of stuff you're going to go with the Hollywood films – and for good reason. I have no idea why REIGN IN DARKNESS has even received a DVD release over here, given that it has absolutely nothing going for it aside from a misleading cover that makes it look like a 'professional' flick.
For anyone not familiar with shot-on-video epics, the problems are numerous: the acting is often wooden, the dialogue delivered in a way that would make your local amateur dramatics group cringe. This one features Australians putting on a variety of American accents. The direction is pedestrian and the fight scenes – well, they don't even register. Forget any semblance of characterisation, motivation or continuity. The special effects are negligent – not even any rubbishy CGI stuff to laugh at – and I get the impression that the filmmakers ran out of what little money they did have, as later on we get a few people chatting in a dark room for about ten minutes before the credits roll. Not the most exciting of endings, then.
At the end of the day, if you want to watch this sort of stuff you're going to go with the Hollywood films – and for good reason. I have no idea why REIGN IN DARKNESS has even received a DVD release over here, given that it has absolutely nothing going for it aside from a misleading cover that makes it look like a 'professional' flick.