The Reign of Shadows - DVD

Film: As a projectionist, Paul (John Leguizamo) is used to darkness. But when the projectors in his projection room come back on after a power outage, it sends chills down Paul's spine. There's not a soul in the movie theater or the foyer. Only clothes, jewelry, watches and other items are lying on the seats and on the floor. Even news anchor Luke (Hayden Christensen) has to realize the morning after the blackout that all the people from his immediate surroundings seem to have vanished into thin air. Only a few have survived, but they too are threatened with the mysterious as well as quick end. And that seems to come directly from the darkness. In a small bar Luke and Paul entrench themselves together with the desperate Rosemary (Thandie Newton) and the boy James (Jacob Latimore), hoping to escape the deadly shadows there. But the darkness won't be locked out so easily.

Already in films such as the superb Session 9 and the intense The Machinist, Brad Anderson has been able to give his viewers a good dose of goosebumps. After recently directing primarily TV series like Fringe, he finally ventures back into a feature length genre feature with The Reign of Shadows. As in Session 9, the film was once again shot in Detroit, which for Anderson is the perfect setting for an end-time thriller. Especially in the first third, in which the protagonists wander through the deserted big city, an extremely threatening atmosphere can spread, which is underlined by some very strong moments.

There are some clear borrowings from Stephen King's Langoliers, from the box office hit I am Legend or even from the classic Quiet Earth - The Last Experiment. Nevertheless, Anderson and screenwriter Anthony Jaswinski have obviously been very concerned about a certain independence. Despite the good role models and many successful aspects, the whole thing only works to a certain extent. Because even if the use of ominous sound effects and the play with the universal fear of darkness provide some good goosebumps moments, the story does not really meet the high standards of the creators. The audience is left - you may forgive this obvious pun - in the dark too much. This works to a certain extent, as the lack of knowledge initially builds up tension. But since there is no real explanation until the end, the film sometimes feels like a string of atmospheric moments that lack a cohesive element.

Whether this is due to the low budget or the short shooting time is up to the viewer. The fact is that Brad Anderson definitely has the talent to make more out of a basic idea like the one this film is based on than just an atmospheric end-times thriller. Reign of Shadows really isn't a bad movie, there are just too many effective moments for that. But after the unsatisfying finale, you're left with the feeling that the idea, which is good in itself, wasn't really thought through to its conclusion. Good actors, a few impressive images and decent creepy effects make the film, on balance, for all lovers of mystery thrillers well worth seeing - and yet it is a pity that especially a director like Brad Anderson could here only rudimentarily exploit the potential available to him.

Picture + Sound: The good use of atmospheric sound effects makes the sound the best aspect of the technical implementation. Time and time again it succeeds in creating a real goosebump through partly rather subliminal, then again obviously threatening sounds. The picture can't really keep up. Although there is no dirt, color and overall sharpness are also on a good level. Only in the not exactly few dark scenes is here and there a slight image noise and weaknesses in the detail representation to make out. The bottom line is still a: Good!

Extras: The most interesting extra is undoubtedly the audio commentary by director Brad Anderson. Here Anderson tells about how with a small budget and in the shortest time had to be shot and that, among other things, an already locked set of the remake of Red Dawn, which was shot at the same time, was used to be able to implement the gloomy end-time vision. It is also very interesting to learn that Anderson had to shoot with a state-of-the-art RED Digital camera for cost reasons, which turned out to be negative because the sets had to be lit as bright as day for this camera and the dominating darkness could only be created digitally afterwards in post-production. The director also tells of problems with test screenings and his annoyance with them in the unfortunately unsubtitled commentary.

The behind-the-scenes look and the three featurettes are each very short promotional materials, some of which use the same material. As such, the statements made by the creators and actors interviewed here are occasionally repetitive, which doesn't help the information content of these specials. The alternative endings are also a bit of a cheat, as they are actually always the same ending that has only been slightly recut. The original trailer and the German trailer round off the only partly convincing bonus package.

Conclusion: The Reign of Shadows is an atmospheric end-time thriller with some great moments, but also some weak points, which include the somewhat confusing story. Technically, the DVD is on a good level, the extras are, apart from the informative audio commentary, a bit superficial. Overall, there is still a decent: Recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp