The Dark (film)

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The Dark

Theatrical poster

Directed by John Fawcett

Produced by Paul W. S. Anderson

Jeremy Bolt
Steve Christian
Robert Kulzer

Screenplay by Stephen Massicotte

Based on Sheep
by Simon Maginn

Starring Sean Bean

 Maria Bello
Richard Elfyn
Maurice Roëves
Abigail Stone
Sophie Stuckey
Caspar Harvey

Music by Edmund Butt

Cinematography Christian Sebaldt

Edited by Chris Gill

Production Constantin Film

company

Distributed by Miramax Films

Release date May 2005

Running time 93 minutes

Country Germany
United Kingdom

Language English
Welsh

The Dark is a 2005 British-German horror film starring Sean Bean and Maria Bello and

directed by John Fawcett. It is based on the novel Sheep by Simon Maginn.[1]

Contents

 1Plot

 2Cast

 3Critical reception
 4DVD

 5References

 6External links

Plot[edit]
While in Wales visiting her husband James (Sean Bean), Adélle (Maria Bello) tries to fix
her relationship with her daughter Sarah (Sophie Stuckey). By the side of a cliff, they
see a strange memorial with evidence of a plate missing and with the name "Annwyn"
marked on it. A local man Dafydd (Maurice Roëves) explains that, according to
traditional Welsh mythology, Annwyn is a sort of afterlife.
Later, Sarah vanishes on the beach, and another similar looking girl, named Ebrill
(Welsh for "April"), appears in her place. Ebrill is the long-dead daughter of a local
shepherd who also served as the town's pastor fifty years prior. When Ebrill, who was a
sickly child, died, her father gave her to the ocean, sending her to Annwyn. He then
convinced his followers to throw themselves into the ocean, claiming that it was the way
to Paradise, while he privately hoped that their sacrifice would return Ebrill to him from
Annwyn. Ebrill did come back, but, something came back with her. Her father tried to
draw the evil out of her, through trepanning and locking her in her room. Dafydd was
one of the followers who did not throw himself off the cliff, though both his parents did.
Ebrill's father took him in, and when Dafydd could no longer bear witnessing the
shepherd hurting Ebrill, he set her free, which in turn allowed the evil within her to lash
out and shove her father over the cliff.
Adélle makes the connection that Ebrill is back once more because she has found a
living substitute in Sarah. In an attempt to rescue her daughter, Adélle throws both
herself and Ebrill over the cliffs, despite James' protests, and sends them both to
Annwyn, a sepia-toned, misty version of reality. While in Annwyn, the film reveals that
Sarah attempted suicide following an argument with her mother, resulting in their trip to
Wales. Adélle begs for a second chance with her daughter. Ebrill informs her that the
dead don't get second chances. Ebrill and her father perform trepannation on Adélle, to
draw out the evil within her. Adélle eventually escapes her bonds and rushes to find
Sarah, who is locked behind a door. Adélle finds a key and tearfully apologizes for being
so selfish. In unlocking the door, Adélle is able to rescue Sarah from Annwyn, though, in
doing so, Adélle sacrificed herself, only to realize too late that the Sarah she brought
back was tainted by the same evil that had tainted Ebrill all those years ago.

Cast[edit]
 Sean Bean — James
 Maria Bello — Adélle
 Richard Elfyn — Rowan
 Maurice Roëves — Dafydd
 Abigail Stone — Ebrill
 Sophie Stuckey — Sarah
  Caspar Harvey — Young Dafydd

Critical reception[edit]
This section needs expansion. You
can help by adding to it. (September
2015)

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes rates the movie as "rotten", with a score of 33%

based on 9 reviews.[2]

DVD[edit]
The DVD was released on 11 April 2007. The soundtrack features a song by Stream of
Passion sung by Marcela Bovio.

References[edit]
1. ^ The New York Times
2. ^ Rotten Tomatoes

External links[edit]
 The Dark on IMDb
 The Dark at AllMovie

show

Films directed by John Fawcett

show

Paul W. S. Anderson

Categories: 

 2005 films
 2005 horror films
 British films
 British horror films
 German films
 German horror films
 Welsh films
 Folk horror films
 Films based on British novels
 Films directed by John Fawcett
 Films produced by Paul W. S. Anderson
 British ghost films
 British supernatural horror films
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 This page was last edited on 19 January 2020, at 04:06 (UTC).

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Simon Maginn is a British writer who has published five novels under his own
name: Sheep, Virgins and Martyrs, A Sickness of the Soul, Methods of
Confinement and Rattus which was published alongside a novella by Gary Fry entitled The
Invisible Architect of Psychopathy. A film version of Sheep has been released as The Dark. The
novels are horror/psychological thrillers, and are mostly out of print.