[Rating: Minor Rock Fist Up]
Available now on VOD platforms everywhere.
If—like yours truly—you’re a lover of the horror genre, then you’re always on the lookout for something scary 24/7/365, not just in October with all of the seasonal horror fans. You also know sometimes it’s tough to find something different, something beyond jump scares that features a story as terrifying as the horror elements it’s dabbling in.
They Wait in the Dark is that something—an eerie independent horror thriller treat, with a slow-burn story, standout acting, and some fun scary-movie stuff as icing on the cake.
They Wait in the Dark centers around a woman on the run with her son, trying to find a place of refuge from the forces of darkness, both within and without, that hunt them. Sarah McGuire plays Amy, a woman whose past is literally haunting her. With her abusive ex-girlfriend, Judith (Laurie Catherine Winkel) hot on their trail, she tries to hideout in her family’s old home but it turns out there are supernatural forces eager to bring the truth of Amy and Judith’s dark shared past to light.
The film moves at a slow pace as it builds tension but McGuire and Winkel each deliver intense performances that add gravitas to the pacing of the film and allow for a finale that is appropriately earned by the filmmaker as well as the actors. While there are plenty of supernatural and creepy elements to titillate horror fans, what unfolds is closer to a taut, character-driven thriller.
Writer and director Patrick Rea (Nailbiter, I am Lisa) continues to deliver as a story-first filmmaker in the horror genre. It can be easy to rely on cliches, but Rea’s ability to balance the horror elements with believable human drama all while getting real emotional performances out of his leads is why he is one of the most reliably creepy filmmakers in the business.
They Wait in the Dark is available on most VOD streaming services and is worth a look if you’re bored with all of the same ol’, same ol’ Hollywood jump-scare schlock. Thanks to great performances by the two female leads, the film elevates beyond the story’s simplicity for a tense psychological drama with some fun supernatural wrapping paper.
Lover of movies and tacos. Ad man. Author. Member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle and the Broadcast Film Critics Association. Founder of the Terror on the Plains Horror Festival. Creator and voice of the Reel Hooligans podcast.
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