source: The Dark Stranger

I stumbled upon the 2015 horror movie "The Dark Stranger" here in 2021. I didn't even know that the movie existed when I had the fortune to sit down and watch it. So I didn't really know what I was in for here. I casually glanced at the IMDb page for the movie, and saw it was listed as animation as well, so I thought this was an animated horror movie. So of course I was surprised when I sat down to watch it and realized that it was a regular movie. Now, I can warmly recommend that you take the time to sit down and watch "The Dark Stranger", because this is a horror movie that is somewhat setting itself apart from a lot of movies in the horror genre. You can say, I suppose, that this is a horror movie with a twist, or a horror movie and then some. I was genuinely entertained by the storyline that was written by Chris Trebilcock. It was something that provided good entertainment and it wasn't an overly straight forward movie. I liked how the atmosphere was slowly built up by director Chris Trebilcock. Visually then "The Dark Stranger" was interesting. I liked the atmosphere in the movie, and it was something that most definitely added to the movie's overall feel and experience. I definitely liked the visuals in the movie, so thumbs up to the special effects department. The cast was rather good, and I must admit that I was somewhat thrilled to see that Stephen McHattie was on the cast list. And, yeah, he was nicely cast for the movie. I must say that Enrico Colantoni definitely put on a great performance in this 2015 movie, and it was so nice to see him in a movie such as this. Now, I wasn't at all familiar with Katie Findlay, but she really put on a stellar performance and carried the movie quite well. While "The Dark Stranger" is not a horror movie full of jump scares and cheap gory tricks, it is the type of horror that slowly seeps in and simmers under the skin. Sort of a psychological horror in a way, I suppose. My rating of "The Dark Stranger" lands on a six out of ten stars. This movie is definitely worth taking the time to sit down and watch, should you happen to get the chance to do so.

Leah (Katie Findlay) blames herself for her mother's suicide. In a constant dysfunctional melancholy, she starts to draw a graphic novel, which symbolically imitates her life and is ominous. The villain of the story is "The Dark Stranger." Findlay was able to pull off the quiet and moody teen, so much so that at 20 minutes into the film, she was irritating me. About that time the film changes gears slightly. The film takes time to build characters and the family relationship, much like a Lifetime feature. I can see this movie having an appeal to dark graphic novel fans such as "Slenderman." The film lets itself open to a sequel or even a TV series. Horror is mostly psychological. The production will be tame to those who demand blood and guts or Hitchcock.in their terror. Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.

It felt like much more like a play than a movie. The 2D dream sequences were a story in itself and the two stories intertwine in a somewhat childish manner, which shows a traumatized teenager's struggle and how she independently deals with the suicide of her mother. Considering the fact, that she is actually supposed to be a teenager in this movie, I can understand why the movie followed the path it did. It doesn't seem to delve into much of anyone else's story, other than her own, and made the surrounding characters seem to be mostly bit players to show her self-involved fight with whatever psychosis she had going on. I'm a fan of Stephen McHattie (Pontypool), but he too, was a background character in this movie. I suppose if I were younger, I would find more depth in this movie -- but alas, I'm not. It seems like a PG movie that they would show on a later-in-the- evening teenager's television channel like YTV (as it does deal with some adult situations like suicide and self-harm) -- but I found myself disinterested. Which is a shame, because the first fifteen minutes of the movie had me quite interested with the CGI at the beginning.

I'm a big Stephen McHattie fan so when The Dark Stranger came along I had to take a peek. This film has a lot of good, very creative ideas but somehow its comes across as rather nondescript. There is nothing wrong with the performances from the cast, with McHattie fitting snugly into the role of The Dark Stranger. Where this film falls down, is in its pacing and the fact well, its really not all that exciting. The key issue here is this is, at its heart, a horror thriller and its really neither of these things in enough "measure" to really hold the viewers attention. I frequently found myself distracted by other things, not a good sign. In short, The Dark Stranger is not a bad film and the ideas are good but there's just not enough happening to really bring this film to life.Six out of ten from me.

'The Dark Stranger' drew me into seeing it, with a cool poster/cover, an intriguing and quite creative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive. It is sadly however yet another film seen recently, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws are here present in those films, that to me was quite disappointing considering its potential which it doesn't do enough with. 'The Dark Stranger' is not great, or good, has a fair share of problems (fairly big ones too) and doesn't do enough with its potential, which was hardly small. There are however a few decent, even good, qualities in 'The Dark Stranger'. Lets start with the positives. The scenery is atmospheric, likewise with the decent way it's shot. The music is suitably spooky and quirky and doesn't distract at all from the atmosphere, while not exactly enhancing it. A few unsettling moments and horror tropes and the acting is better than average. However, the story does feel over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary it got. Too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their irritating and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrates. Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into it. The effects are ropy at best. Dialogue can be stilted and rambling while the pace is uneven, dragging in a lot of the second half and never is it exciting. Found too many the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness and the lack of tension and suspense. A lot of the film has underdeveloped plot elements and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations. There is very little threat here and what there is of it is used poorly, while the psychological elements are unimaginative and are more odd than scary. Some badly sagging momentum too. The direction is pretty leaden. Overall, not a terrible film by any stretch but should have been darker and scarier. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Lovely little movie right here, presenting a story rarely used, with a way better execution and quite good actors. Stephen McHattie does it again, comes in and steals the show as a dark, mysterious man, just like he did in Haunter (2013). Teaming up with Enrico Colantoni, you can be sure to have at least a A- acting style. The plot itself is lovely to watch, if your eyes are set on the horror industry of course, and if you are able to appreciate smaller productions, do yourself a favor and find this one. The visuals are beautiful, the story goes on at a good pace, the reveal is nice but the ending feels forced. Quick and easy, perhaps some more time was needed on the climax, but nevertheless I took the film for what it was, a nice change of direction, pace, and a different way to tell a horror story. I will definitely recommend this one. Cheers!

Leah Garrison (Katie Findlay) is a graphic novel artist haunted by the death of her artist mother. She is disturbed by dark visions and The Dark Stranger. She lives with her father (Enrico Colantoni) and brother Toby. She is being treated by psychiatrist Dr. Anne Parsons (Jennifer Dale). Randall Toth (Stephen McHattie) is interested in her mother's art. There are some good standard horror ideas. The indie horror directing is too weak. None of it is scary. It's mostly bright daylight and flat. There are some attempts at creepy but few are good. I like the pen but he fails to find its inherent horror.

Great acting and concept. I like new ideas. I love the way the story comes alive.

This movie tells the tale of a highly troubled teen who suffers from chronic hallucinations. Whether those hallucinations are the product of her traumatic past or a curse is not really clear. Apart from the fact that the protagonist has a hard time distinguishing reality from fantasy she also seems to suffer from agoraphobia (which is the clinical term for someone who is afraid of the outside world). What really irked me about the movie were the totally random "2D dream sequences/daydreams" which if I had to guess were supposed to add some sort of artistic element. Kind of a given choice considering how the movie is about an artist but not quite solid in it's execution. It ended up being really silly. After all this is supposed to be a Horror movie and not a children's playbook. Furthermore, the antagonist of the movie (the dark stranger) is basically an old man who is blackfacing/grayfacing. I know, this is supposed to be a scary movie but when I first saw the "dark stranger" I laughed out loud. It just seemed way too bizarre. To conclude: Was the movie scary? No, not really.