It kind of breaks my heart to give this such an average score. I was really digging this film’s actorly vibe, enjoying the slow crepe towards whatever reveal it was aiming for. And then… it just just kept creeping and, when it did drop the mic, it was like they think we’d never seen a horror movie before.

House of Darkness stars Justin Long and Kate Bosworth as a young couple who met earlier that night. She takes him to her castle estate for a few drinks and a lot of conversation. And toying. Lots and lots of toying.

The first half of the film is compelling as we are introduced to two (and later three) actors doing fine work with a dialog-heavy script. Justin Long puts his typical nervous energy to good use and the ladies (Kate Bosworth and Gia Crovatin) are excellent playing mysterious, sly, and casually confrontational.

But… that’s kind of it. After awhile you realize the dialog just isn’t going in any interesting directions. Justin Long stars with casual, inconsequential nervous chatter and basically plays that through to the end. The ladies just do variations on casual, wicked sly mystery and never change. The topics of conversation never get very deep or interesting… just one long awkward evening.

That is, until they finally reveal what’s really going on and if you’ve never seen ANY horror movies in your entire life, you might be surprised. Hell, the ladies are named Mina and Lucy… and if that doesn’t set off the warning bells, maybe watch some more classic horror. Thing is, I get the feeling the film makers thought they were pulling a fast one. But it’s like they think they invented the wheel while driving 90 mph on the freeway.

But, you know, enough of this film works and the actors do a very good job with the limited material they are provided. I just wish the screenwriter and director had more to say and more confidence and respect for the audience. A decent movie that started great.

Score: 78