Nobody “phones it in” for Mathieu Turi’s subterranean thriller The Deep Dark, although their efforts are for naught;  simply because this movie isn’t a good fit for their work.

A crew of miners, which includes new recruit Amir (Amir El Kacem), are taken to new depths for research purposes.  However, despite the expertise on their team (introduced to us in a Guy Ritchie-esque fashion ala Wrath of Man), this latest trip is their most intimidating expedition yet – only becoming more dangerous when a new life form is discovered after the conditions worsen.

The Deep Dark is a heavy-handed flick.  The acting is too dramatic, the score swells too much, and the wide camerawork doesn’t compliment the cramped caverns very well.  In fact, most of The Deep Dark reminds us that viewers are watching a well-polished monster movie.  Even the creature itself, as menacing as it is, often gives itself away by how stiff and patchy the masked performance is.

However, everyone who made The Deep Dark deserves some sort of “participation ribbon”.  The movie is a solid showcase of what the production is capable of, but their contributions don’t mesh within the context of a horror-thriller.  If Silent Hill: Revelation 3D was an example of a movie being conceived out of convenience, The Deep Dark is an example of a movie being constructed by force.

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For more information on the festival, visit the official Toronto After Dark website.

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