A woman and her son are on the run from an abusive ex, as they reach her childhood home, a hope for some peace seems possibly. That is, until the past comes back to haunt them.
From director Patrick Rea, this film mixes the horrors of running from an abusive relationship with the horrors of the past, both real and supernatural. This feature brings together many elements to create a fear that hits on many levels, all of them valid and scary enough on their own, made so many times worse once added on top of each other. They Wait in the Dark is a film that is the definition of a slow burn, but one that works. At just 85 minutes in runtime, the film achieves this in taking its time yet not wasting any time. The story starts off simple enough with a mother and son duo seemingly homeless making their way to her childhood town. Then, things get added one by one until the culmination of everything reveals there is much more at play than expected here. The film is quite well written and has solid direction, a staple of Rea’s work.
The cast here is solid with some returning faces from previous Patrick Rea films, including lead Sarah MCGuire as Amy. Her performance here is that of subtly and subduedness. She keeps her feelings close to the vest, yet lets the viewer see just enough to make it a strong, solid performance. She leads and her reaction to things helps guide the viewer as well as young actor Patrick McGee as her son Aidan. Young McGee here is a solid performer as well, being a bit more boisterous, his work is less subdued, yet no less effective. The role of the ex here is played well by Laurie Catherine Winkel who has a menace in her performance, creating an abuser that can be felt on screen. Of course, the rest of the cast also does well here, having been clearly carefully selected for their parts.
The special effects in this film take a bit to show themselves, but once they do, they are worth the wait. The work by special makeup effects artist Jake Jackson and his crew is quite good and revealed slowly, showing that sometimes, less is more and that the unseen can be scarier than the over-shown. These effects and the abovementioned performances are beautifully framed and shot by cinematographer Hanuman Brown-Eagle who obviously understands the power of less is more and how to slowly let the viewer discover things for themselves. Their work with that of the editing department shows how framing and pacing can make all the difference in this kind of film.
They Wait in the Dark is a solid piece of survival and supernatural film giving the audience a mostly simple story that is given the right amount of time to develop, the right performances to show itself, and the right way of letting the viewer make their own mind before showing what it’s hiding. At 85 minutes, it’s also a paced just right, something many films of late seem to lack an understand of.