Review of Dark Remains

Poor acting, an overly-contived and inefficient story, and a few cheap, superficial, startle-effect scares do not make for a good enjoyable horror film. Dark Remains is just another dime a dozen ghost stories put to film, as lamentable in its telling as in its waste of celluloid. This movie relies far too heavily on the generic sudden loud music/quick flash of something vaguely creepy across the screen tactic. None of the scares are earned by compelling atmosphere or attachement to the characters. There's no overlying or growing sense of danger or fear at work because by the end we simply don't care enough. The movie does start out with some promise; the grief of a lost child is a heavy, serious matter that gives the film potential for interesting directions and places to go. But by the end the entire experience becomes tiresome. It's too bad. As a big fan of the horror genre I hate not liking any given horror film. But there just wasn't alot here to like.