Extras left in the 'dark'

"Darkness" is another entry into what is becoming a virtual onslaught of the horror/thriller genre that have been released recently. Unfortunately, the DVD, just like the movie, is a disappointment.\nIn "Darkness," a family -- parents Maria (Lena Olin) and Mark (Iain Glen) and two children, Regina (Anna Paquin -- looking closer in age to her performance in "The Piano" than anything recent) and Paul (Stephan Enquist) -- move into a house in rural Spain (where the "Rain in Spain..." proverb holds ridiculously true). Unfortunately, they've moved into a house where something bad happens. \nWhat exactly takes place isn't revealed until late in the movie. For the first hour, you're only given flashes of what happened ... about every minute. I'm convinced that if you watch the movie in slow motion, you'll eventually see a frame that's just a thesis explaining what in the world is going on. \nAnyway, something bad has taken place in this house and it appears that history may be repeating itself as strange things are taking place in the house -- the power goes out, things move across the room on their own. Also, something with the occult and dead babies is going on. Maybe if you're into the Spanish occult you'll understand -- I didn't. \nI find it hard to say that "Darkness" is really a bad movie; I enjoyed the last half hour, even though it was pretty incoherent. I just think that it's very incomplete. Ironic, since the film was originally supposed to be released nearly three years ago. \nThe film feels a lot like a foreign film -- that is, an extremely watered-down, Americanized version of one. It's tries to have that raw feeling of foreign horror but it just doesn't work. I can't help but feel that Dimension (the company that released the movie) is mostly to blame for this; it makes the most sense, because of their reputation for throwing movies out on the market, hoping to recoup some lost funds without any quality control. \nSince there are only five bonus features, let's just break them down for a minute: "Cursed" preview -- not a real extra. "Sin City" preview -- not a real extra, but it is probably the highlight of the features. Dimension movie catalog: glorified commercial for a bunch of Dimension films on DVD -- not a real extra. "Darkness Illuminated": five minutes of interviews with the main cast and the director. Two movie trailers for "Darkness": I still fail to see how movie trailers for a movie you just watched are worthwhile.\nIn the end, you get five minutes of extra material for your $20 DVD purchase. With all the extra space on the DVD, the entire movie "Cursed" could have been put on the DVD and sold as a double pack. At least you'd be getting ripped off less than before.\nIf you're really into the occult, bad horror movies or Paquin, this might be worth a rental. Otherwise, go watch something else like "Sin City"