Movie review: Left In Darkness

Celia is taken to a frat party by a friend on her 21st birthday to cheer her up since her mother died during childbirth and it is usually a sad day for her. The party is more than she expected when she is drugged, raped, dies, and becomes trapped in purgatory. Not knowing who to trust, and dealing with hostile dead such as her father and grandfather, Celia tries to figure out how to survive and make it to heaven.

Monica Keena (Celia), David Anders (Donovan), Tim Thomerson (Joe), Chris Engen (Doug).

This is a rather unique and interesting plot using the idea of soul eaters and the possibility of different conscious levels and types of souls that are found in purgatory.  The deception and misdirection make the story even more interesting and require some thought to be fully understood.

This movie was much better than I expected. Keena did a great job of provoking emotion in her role and Anders did a really good job playing an emotionless pseudo guardian angel. The plot moved along pretty well for the most part although Celia’s constant flip-flopping decision making did get a bit tedious for a while. Things also got a bit confusing toward the end but the ending itself was nicely done if somewhat hard to swallow considering things that happened earlier in the movie.

Camera work was well done and sets were interesting with good detail and continuity. Sound and dialogue we okay but balance could have been a bit better.

With very little blood and guts or nudity, the biggest concerns in this one are adult concepts and some language.  This movie is well worth watching in my opinion but, save it for teens and above.

Released: 2006
Reviewed: 7.10.16
Star rating: 4 out of 5
Genre: Horror, Satanic Stories, Supernatural Horror

copyright ©2016 Dave Riedel