Patrick Rea is no stranger to Arrow Video FrightFest. Over the course of his career he has screened several of his projects. The first we reviewed was Enclosure, a tale of a couple whose weekend away camping was disrupted by something living in the woods. Next came I am Lisa, a taut, gritty revenge thriller filtered through a werewolf story. The two projects worked night and day from one another. Now Rea brings They Wait in the Dark to the festival, demonstrating yet another string in his bow.
They Wait in the Dark shares some visual and tonal DNA with I am Lisa. Its darker subject matter pushes it above the creature feature frolics of Enclosure and forms more of a psychological thriller. The development in Rea’s career has been great to see evolve and with They Wait in the Dark the director has created his most intimate piece of work. Set primarily in a secluded house, They Wait in the Dark joins Amy (Sarah McGuire) and her son Adrian (Patrick McGee). The pair have fled their home and Amy’s partner Judith (Laurie Catherine Winkel). With no other place to go, Amy returns to her newly inherited former family home. Whilst for most people, the house grew-up in holds treasured memories, Amy was not so lucky. Tainted by the darkness and trauma that occurred there, the building has never recovered and, once inside, Amy and Adrian find themselves having to survive more than just being found by Judith.
Domestic violence is a common trigger and Rea’s film is steeped in it. Fearing for her son, Amy is fleeing a violent relationship whilst hiding in the building that saw her introduction to violent behaviour as a child. It’s a chilling representation of the circular nature that victims of abuse find themselves in. Once inside the vicious cycle, it can be hard to break free. Although Amy is trying to give her son a better chance than she had, events unravel and Adrian is soon in an even more precarious situation. Rea slowly builds into this dilemma, amping up Amy’s paranoia about their safety. This is a slow and steady film, one that needs time to marinate in silences. So much of the relationship and questions between Adrian and Amy, Amy and Judith, go unspoken and it makes for riveting viewing.
The bulk of They Wait in the Dark unfolds as a two-hander between mother and son. Their dynamic is an odd one. Amy is clearly wrestling with what she can and cannot tell Adrian about their circumstances. Adrian, like all children, is not stupid and knows the bleak nature of the situation, his stance only heightening Amy’s stress further. Trapped within the confines of a building clad in darkness, there are all the right ingredients for a pressure cooker environment, and when it’s finally uncorked, the film explodes into some unforeseen territories.
As with his other works, Rea doesn’t keep the dark forces hidden. In this instance, there are two threats at play: those within the house, and Judith. Whereas the danger of the home is alluded to with an overarching atmosphere of dread, the introduction of Judith immediately communicates her menace. The character has a clear appetite for destruction as proved when she explodes onto screen. By this stage she’s already on the road, searching for Amy and Adrain. She stops at a gas station and finds herself subjected to some catcalls and toxic male behaviour. These men instantly regret their words as Judith unleashes an untamed ferocity on them. It’s a feisty (and somewhat fun) first encounter with her and proof that Amy and Adrian should be fearful of her rage.
They Wait in the Dark’s third act rewards the viewer’s patience. After so much slow trudging through unspoken conversations, finally answers are revealed. The impact of these is felt in the bowels of the audience, the implications of actions possibly too much for some to cope with. Easily the most sombre and sobering of Rea’s work, They Wait in the Dark is a new direction for the filmmaker, one that will hopefully continue to be explored.
They Wait in the Dark
Summary
A powder-keg of fear, paranoia, and traumatic memories spark to become something dark, twisted, and haunting in Rea’s latest offering to the FrightFest Gods.
They Wait in the Dark was reviewed at Arrow Video FrightFest 2022.
