Out of Darkness, 2022.
Directed by Andrew Cumming.
Starring Safia Oakley-Green, Kit Young, Chuku Modu, Iola Evans, Luna Mwezi, Arno Lüning.
SYNOPSIS:
In the Old Stone Age, a disparate gang of early humans band together in search of a new land. But when they suspect a malevolent, mystical being is hunting them down, the clan are forced to confront a danger they never envisaged.
Crafting a survival horror based on the ancient world of prehistoric humanity sounds like a good idea. After all, surviving was pretty much the day-to-day business of being an early human. If you could get through the day with a bit of food in your belly and avoid being eaten up by a hungry predator or stung to death it was pretty good going. In short, it was a scary world, and horror was always just around the corner.
Terror in ancient lands offers plenty of scope for cinematic nightmares. The recent Adam Driver starring thriller 65 explored some similar territory, albeit much further back in time. Going back in our world’s time there are the early 1980s fantasy Quest for Fire and the very 60’s campy delights of One Million Years B.C. with Racquel Welch.
The major release of Out of Darkness (originally titled The Origin) delivers a tense and mysterious story rooted in the ancient world of 40,000 years ago. Based on the thoroughly researched idea of a band of early humans attempting to cross the big water to find new pastures to explore, Andrew Cumming’s film showcases the indomitable spirit of resilience.
The movie’s research team certainly did their work. As well as a detailed look at behaviour and group dynamics, there is even a unique language specially created for the film for the characters to communicate in. Inspired by the Basque language, which is thought by many experts to be the last remaining link to prehistoric languages present in Europe, the dialogue helps to place the story as taking place deep in the past.
Into this world a band of travellers – some family, plus a tough and wild ‘stray’ Beyah (Safia Oakley-Green) – set off in search of decent food and shelter. When they travel to a new world they find a gloomy atmosphere, fraught with danger and a stalking presence that seems to know their every move. Under the cover of darkness the mysterious enemy attacks, and starts taking them down one by one.
In this way, the movie operates like a deadly serious slasher movie. The unseen thing is picking them off, and when the youngest member of the tribe disappears, the story evokes ancient memories of children in peril legends. Without giving anything away, the movie – which I felt worked in its aim of imagining the confusion and motivation of early humans – shows off the need for understanding the Earth and its denizens to not just survive, but to flourish.
Out of Darkness is a fascinating update on the themes of survival in an unforgiving world. With richly captured cinematography, empathic group acting from the cast of new faces, and fluid action sequences, the movie places the audience in a cruel world where only the strong survive.
The real cue we can take from this ambitious tale is that the spirit of resilience in the human animal is still with us, and the adaptability we have shown to get this far is needed more than ever. Curiosity, compassion and imagination are all tools that still need to be honed to ‘make it’ as a species. The optimists among us will hope that we get there eventually.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert W Monk
