At the beginning of Out Of Darkness, a mystic sage by the name Odal (Arno Lüning) warns: “The danger in bringing light to a dark place, is that you might find out what lives in the darkness.” That’s why this film works; as the little tribe shows, their worst enemies are nature and shadows. Set in Scotland during the pandemic, the movie has group members trying to cross rolling hills and at night falling back on small areas illuminated by flames.
Narratively speaking, characters gradually make their pitch to be slaughtered even as survival-horror boxes get checked. It’s not about how much blood there is but rather about what you do not see; good sound design allows your imagination to fill in the gaps between squelches. Instead of being jump-scares first-time director Andrew Cumming maintains nothing else but tension throughout his short movie.
However, it moves beyond mere hack-and-slash with some modern problems thrown into its storyline. Beyah (Safia Oakley-Green) becomes a focal point for this film after she is adopted into their midst as a “stray” who rebels against Adem’s (Chuku Modu) plans. This suggests some patriarchal themes within the plot and also echoes 2022’s Prey with more dirt under its nails.
All cast members have great performances while emotions run high despite speaking an invented language from stone ages. Adem played by Modu appears like someone leading and at times reveals his evil side slowly. Lüning portrays the exaggerated role required by such movies, while Kit Young resembles a time bomb, Geirr, Adem’s younger brother, torn between loyalty and survival.
When many horror-thrillers finish with an ultimate confrontation, Out Of Darkness takes on a more analytical path regarding unknowns. This leaves you contemplating far beyond bloody murder scenes.
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