Out of Darkness
Paleolithic survivalist horror Out of Darkness sees a band of early humans up against the wildness of the Scottish landscape – and a mysterious threat picking them off one by one
Andrew Cumming’s gnarly survivalist horror Out of Darkness makes great use of its Highland setting. Set in the Paleolithic age, it follows a band of early humans who have made a perilous journey across the sea, only to find themselves washed up on the shores of a cold, desolate country with no shelter or food. The wildness of the Scottish landscape isn’t their only worry, though: there’s a mysterious threat on the mist-covered moors that’s picking off their group one by one.
One of Cumming’s canniest moves is having the cast speak a language invented for the film called Tola. Loosely based on Basque – Europe’s oldest language – it sounds alien enough to enhance the feeling we're watching an ancient people eke out an existence. Ben Fordesman’s rich, low-lit cinematography, where the characters are usually only lit by campfire or burning torches, and otherwise enveloped in blackness, adds to the primordial atmosphere.
This is horror with some sharp things to say about evolution and migration; there might even be a sly comment on Brexit among the carnage. This isn’t to suggest Out of Darkness has highfalutin ideas above its genre station, though. What makes it so refreshing is that it's first and foremost a fat-free thrill ride concerned with squeezing as much tension from its smart but simple setup as possible. Early reviews comparing Cumming’s film to superficially similar work like Robert Eggers’ The Witch are off base – the existential dread of Alien or Walter Hill’s Southern Comfort are better touchstones.
Released 23 Feb by Signature Entertainment; certificate 15