Dark Windows – Movie Review (3/5)

DARK WINDOWS is a new horror thriller about revenge and paying for your mistakes. The cast is small and good, the runtime is short, and the storytelling is tight. A mystery unravels in a very organic way. Read our full Dark Windows movie review here!

DARK WINDOWS is a new genre movie that has horror, thriller, and mystery elements throughout. The story begins with sorrow, turns into a celebration of life, but then quickly takes yet another turn and becomes pure survival.

Actually, the whole survival element only comes about because someone wants revenge. The title comes from the fact that a house full of light makes it very easy to watch from the darkness outside. You need to turn off the light and make the windows dark to stay hidden.

Continue reading our Dark Windows movie review below. In select theaters and On Demand from August 18, 2023.

A brutal and direct revenge story

In Dark Windows, we meet a group of teenagers as they’re attending a memorial service of a friend. The Teenagers, Tilly, Monica, Peter, and Allison were recently involved in a car crash, where Allison died from her injuries. While at the memorial – that none of the other three feel comfortable at – Allison’s uncle confronts and blames them for her death.

After this latest uncomfortable experience, Monica is quick to suggest that they get out of their small town. Her grandparents have a summerhouse in the countryside, where they can be together and reminisce about their friend. In their own way.

Following a rough first day, it turns out to be a good decision. We keep seeing flashbacks from the accident throughout, which gives us a better idea of what actually happened. Something that will be both key and ultimately irrelevant. You’ll see!

However, just as everything is going along smoothly, the three friends are confronted with a very uncomfortable development; Someone has followed them there and wants to make them pay for Allison’s death.

A cast full of fresh faces

It’s not that the cast of Dark Windows is full of completely unknown faces, but rather that we should expect to see more of them in the future. The three actors in the lead roles deliver very solid and nuanced performances. As the story evolves, we get to know them better and realize the issues they are all dealing with.

Also, if we forget the ultimately dreadful circumstances, it’s a great look at the gorgeous nature of Norway.

While this movie doesn’t take place in Norway – which the previous movie from the same director did – it was still shot in Norway. If you know this, then it’s very easy to see.

Or maybe it’s just because I’m from Scandinavia myself that I immediately felt like it was shot near me. In any case, the house used is the perfect setting, so it makes sense. In fact, almost everything that happens in this new horror movie does make sense.

Admittedly, there are some accent issues, but hey, nobody states the origin of any character. A parent could easily be an immigrant from say Iceland. If we pretend this is an unspoken backstory, then having an accent makes perfect sense.

Watch Dark Windows in theaters or On Demand

The director of Dark Windows is Alex Herron, who recently had another horror movie come out. His previous movie was titled Leave and was quite good. Check out our review of Leave right here and find that horror movie on Shudder now.

The screenplay comes from Ulvrik Kraft. Actually, he goes by Wolf Kraft for this movie, but “Ulv” does also mean Wolf, so I can understand that decision for a more international approach. Also, “Wolf” is a cool name!

In any case, I liked the story which had some nice twists that never went too crazy or felt too far-fetched. My only wish would be that they had ended the movie one scene earlier. For me, this would’ve made for a much stronger movie. However, I definitely appreciate that the audience might object to this as being too brutal.

Dark Windows is released in select theaters and On Demand on August 18, 2023.

Details

Director: Alex Herron
Writer: Wolf Kraft
Cast: Anna Bullard, Annie Hamilton, Rory Alexander, Jóel Sæmundsson, Morten Holst