‘Into the Dark’ is a film of two halves. What begins as a battle of beliefs for Sophia (Mischa Barton) as her father dies leaving his last words as “There is nothing here”, in a few words he shatters her world and the Christian beliefs of life after death.

 

Battling with her own beliefs she becomes more isolated causing conflict with others including her friend Sam (Jaz Martin)and leaving chances of a better life behind in favour of solitary enclosure.

 

Until she meets Adam (Ryan Eggold) with a chance run in, charming her mood the spark between them hits instantly and Adams constant attempts to get closer to Sophia frivolously get ignored. But she realises she can’t live alone forever and when a frightening nightmare forces her to rely on him, the romance blossoms into a full blown relationship.

 

While all is well and she meets flatmate Astrid (Leah Pipes) the next five months go perfectly. Until that is, one night when Adam disappears in he middle of the night leaving only a trail of blood. Knowing nothing and without thte help of the police, they head to the top floor of Adams apartment building.

 

Looking like a teleport to the 1930’s, the eerie corridors not only haunt the building, but to get Adam back, Sophia will need to enter where he is. Even if that is Death itself.

 

Barton, who is most famous for er turn in American soap, the OC, may have had her share in the horror genre with the likes of ‘Walled In’, ‘Apartment 1303’ and an early acting role in ‘The Sixth Sense’ but never has she excelled as she has here. Carrying the film from start to end she gives a powerful performance that shows her vulnerability and darkness that it’s somehow hypnotising.

 

Alongside her, the charismatic Eggold manages to woo everyone he touches, including the audience with his charm and persistence that makes him the perfect recovery for Bartons depressing Sophia.

 

Yet behind these powerful performances lies ‘Into The Darks’ biggest flaw. So enticed and evident is the flawless chemistry between the two leads that it takes until the 60 minute mark for it to turn into a horror film. For what it’s worth, the first hour could be cut and resold to any loved up Ryan Gosling fan and they wouldn’t know the difference. Unfortunately, after this point, although captured perfectly by director Mark Edwin Robinson, is where the film turns into cliché of horror and seen it all before scares.

 

Haunted corridors, 1920’s ghosts, random music playing, a deep trip into another world of walking souls sound familiar? This is exactly the material that James Wan crafted so brilliantly in ‘Insidious’ that when the story really gets moving you can’t help but somehow relate to Wan’s modern classic.

 

For the most part, ‘Into the Dark’ is a chilling ghost story with a heart. Robinson has created characters that you instantly fall behind and a world that could have had much more. While there are some genuinely scary scenes afoot, most of these have been done before and by the end, ‘Into the Dark’ is a film you will watch again, just not the next horror film you will visit. Powerful, moving and full of brilliant performances, just don’t expect to be scared.