DARK MOUNTAIN

Aargh! That's what my brain screamed upon first sight of this DVD's cover - a distinct whiff of THE DESCENT about the artwork - and that generic title. How many 21st Century horror films can there be with DARK in the title? We've had THE DARK HOURS, DARKNESS FALLS, DARK TOURIST, DARK FLOORS, DARK TOUCH ... Is it a matter of time until we get to DARK UNDERWEAR?

Aaaarrgh! My brain screamed even louder when I spun the DVD box over to consult the back cover. "Inspired by actual events" the blurb assures us, before going on tender a synopsis that ends with those dreaded words: "No sign of the filmmakers themselves has been found to date ... their camera ad cell phones were recovered ... DARK MOUNTAIN is the chilling reconstruction of their last days".

Yes, we're back in "found footage" territory...

In fairness, writer-director Tara Anaise's film scores points in a few areas. For one, its motivation is based on an actual legend: the Superstition Mountains in Arizona, where an old gold mine is said to be hidden deep within its crannies. The approximate worth of the gold contained within is reckoned to be somewhere in the region of $200 million.

So you can understand why three budding young documentarians from Los Angeles think it may be worth their time travelling out there, interviewing a few of the local residents and then embarking on a proposed 3-day trek into the mountains in search of the elusive booty.

Our second point scored comes in the form of the actual locals who were interviewed on camera during the film's first act. Their natural responses and candid exposition - though hardly new, as a similar ploy was utilised in THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT for one - builds a sense of authenticity around the film's first half as they expand on the stories of those who've searched for the gold in the past, only to never be heard from again.

A third point comes by way of our central protagonists. Kate (Sage Howard), her boyfriend Paul (Andrew Simpson) and their pal Ross (Shelby Stehlin) aren't necessarily well-developed but at least there's a palpable chemistry between them. Performances are unforced, helping us accept their tensions as events become stranger and darker as their footage reveals the perils of their plight.

The setting allows for some nice photography. Worth mentioning, methinks.

A final point is awarded for an unexpected sci-fi bent which provides a somewhat novel spin on the usual "found footage" formula.

But that's the end of my kindness. For my brain was right to initially scream at me; DARK MOUNTAIN, above plusses aside, is as hackneyed and unimaginative as they come. From the opening scene of Howard sobbing into the camera, a la THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, onwards, it's as if Anaise hopes to pilfer from every preceding example of the sub-genre possible but is too lazy to cover her tracks.

Very low budget in look and feel, a film like DARK MOUNTAIN relies on scares for its success. Alas, it has none. The jump-shocks are cheap and signposted; the attempts at eeriness simply don't work. Despite the characters being capable of conveying tension, there is no real sense of threat delivered by the filmmakers.

Shot on varying lo-fi formats, DARK MOUNTAIN doesn't look too good either. In fact, it's a pretty poor film all round. I pointed out those positive points to ensure I'd given the film a fair crack of the whip but, even taking them into consideration, it scores a 4 out of 10 at best.

MVD Visual have released the film onto region 0 DVD. It looks fine, I suppose, in an uncut 16x9 widescreen transfer. It's difficult to appraise the transfer too much, as the film's aesthetics are deliberately distorted and lo-fi throughout. Colours are accurate when they're applicable; the strange moments where things go sepia are nevertheless warm. Minor noise during night scenes is not surprising, given the digital origins of the filming. Fans of the "found footage" sub-genre will surely be expecting this.

English 5.1 audio is clean and clear, though some dialogue is muffled at times on account of how it was recorded.

The disc opens to a static main menu page. From there, an animated scene selection menu allows access to the film via 12 chapters.

As a bonus, we're treated to 11 additional minutes of the locals being interviewed, including a few bloopers. You'd have to be pretty hardcore to get a kick from this...

DARK MOUNTAIN has its strengths, then, but these are eventually overwhelmed by its weaknesses. It's not that it's a terrible film - it's not awful. The problem it's neither here nor there, and offers nothing new to an over-saturated sub-genre. Totally forgettable.

Review by Stuart Willis