Dark Touch (2013)

Genre : Horror
Country : France/Sweden/Ireland

Cast :
Marie Missy Keating : Neve
Marcella Plunkett : Nat
Padraic Delaney : Lucas

Regisseur :
Marina De Van

Summary
In a remote town in Ireland, eleven-year-old Niamh finds herself the sole survivor of a bloody massacre that killed her parents and younger brother. Suspecting a gang of homicidal vandals, the police ignore Neve's explanation that the house is the culprit. To help ease her trauma, dutiful neighbors Nat and Lucas take her in with the supervision of a social worker. Neve has trouble finding peace with the wholesome and nurturing couple, and horrific danger continues to manifest.

My opinion

Carrie meets Firestarter

Weird, but I thought this really wasn't such a bad horror. This is a low-budget movie compared with a blockbuster like "The Conjuring". And still it's actually much more terrifying and oppressive. This isn't once again about demons who must be fought with ancient rituals and religious symbolism. The ending is pretty depressing and certainly it's not a happy one. In this film it's not (like in "The conjuring") the reminder of a happy family moment that leads to a crucial turning point in salvation. Actually, the horror of this film is a reflection of the true horror of everyday life, namely child abuse.

I admit that it started very strong and could evolve into a first-rate horror. But ultimately the movie gradually slowed down and ended up with some strange twists and a abruptly disappointing end .

When Neve, an admirable interpretation by Missy Keating, is introduced, you immediately feel that she's anxious and a dark secret is hanging over her like a shadow. It doesn't take long before you realize that her life is a real agony, along with her baby brother. And then the house burst into her joints and she unleashes a destructive force that causes her parents to die. Immediately it made me think of "Carrie" and "Firestarter". A tormented and troubled girl with telekinetic powers taking revenge. After this part, I expected the movie to hold this course.

But then it all slowed down. The inclusion in another family, the stand aloof and fearful retreat, the total aversion to touching and misunderstandings about certain situations that occur in the family. She associates the laughing in bath with intentionally bathing in very hot water. When Lucas pulled out his belt because it was bothering him, Neve expected again an upcoming beating. The children who entered the basement. The pictures of a little girl who had died of cancer and whose characteristics resembled abuse. All this led to a weeping Neve and the resulting disturbing effects. All this was played in brilliant way by Missy Keating. A wonderful game where she swung back and forth between a frightened girl and a terrifying one. She was able to make contact with other abused children in some kind of way. After she made that contact she resolved that situation like a Mother Teresa, but not in a compassionate way :)

The ending wasn't that great I thought. First she became a kind of Pied Piper of Hamelin, who imposed her will to the children of the town to let them gather in some old building and then she destroyed it completely. It seemed like the "Revenge of the Abused". Let us, abused children, teach those others a lesson. Ultimately it was disappointing and unsatisfactory. Unlike the movie, the story was put on the back burner. The message was clear however.

Conclusion: strong start with an approach that gave you an uncomfortable feeling, and then proceeding into a slow course and an end without a soul. The soundtrack was super with those eery sounds and some sad lonely piano keystrokes. I really do love these movies! A major disappointment is the movie poster. For the umpteenth time, it is not a relevant representation of the final film itself.

My rating 6 /10
Links : IMDB