Known in its native land of Sweden as Ur mörkret, Philip da Silva’s From Darkness has brought Scandi horror to this year’s Pigeon Shrine FrightFest. It is not the only Swedish genre film in this year’s programme, but moves in very different circles to its country mate, In the Name of God. Set almost exclusively within a woodland labyrinth, the plot sees a trio of rescue workers roam the forest in search of a missing person. Along the way they encounter a creature lurking in the trees; is it their collective minds playing tricks on them? Or has a mythical cave wraith targeted them as prey?
From Darkness does an excellent job at creating mood and tension. Whilst the setting, especially when nightfalls, contributes a lot to the vibe, Silva encourages a crisp air of dread to fester and percolate. Much of this tension comes via the interplay of the characters on screen. Park ranger Angelica (Rakel Benér) is tasked with finding a woman who has gone missing in the woods. Rather than hunting for a stranger, Angelica has a history with the disappeared woman, having tried (and failed) to find the distraught mother’s son previously. With the case not as straightforward as simply a tourist having taken a wrong turn, Angelica calls on not only her current colleague, Johan (Peter Mörlin), but also her ex-partner – in both work and private – Viktor (Oscar Skagerberg), to assist. Viktor and Angelica have unfinished business with one another and their environment, which creates additional unease.
Atop of the guilt that haunts Angelica and Viktor, the pair’s unresolved feelings for one another causes further friction. Johan has designs on Angelica and sees the inclusion of Viktor as a threat. This adds a dangerous dynamic to the search operation as Johan continually tries to affirm his dominance, leading to simple errors that cause chasm sized problems. Whilst From Darkness is pitched as a creature feature, it is much stronger when it leans into its relationship dynamics. The mistrust between the core threesome is palpable, and were their search to be free of supernatural elements, it would be just as riveting. Distrust breeds paranoia, which creates fractures in the group that set the viewers on edge. If they can’t maintain a civil conversation, how on Earth are they going to find their missing person?
Given how strong the relationship dynamics are, da Silva takes his time in introducing the story of the wraith. He takes even more time in the creature making itself known. For some it will take too long to get to this section and the pacing will become frustrating. Once it becomes a player on the board, the wraith isn’t pushed as hard as it could be. The best way to describe the usage, and overall feel of most of From Darkness, is as a missing episode of The X-Files. Episodes such as Darkness Falls were great at creating bottleneck tension between characters, whilst also masking most of the perceived supernatural elements. This is exactly the pattern that From Darkness follows, only stretched to feature length which makes it trickier to sustain.
The moody atmosphere and terse relationships form the stronger portion of From Darkness, with the more traditional horror elements sadly not punching through quite as strongly as they could. Thankfully the handling of the creature can be forgiven as the interpersonal dynamic is far more compelling.
From Darkness
Summary
From Darkness feels like a missing episode of The X-Files in all the best ways. A great air of distrust overwhelms the more monstrous elements, but still provides an intense viewing experience.
From Darkness was reviewed at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest 2024.
