Review: ‘Dark Summer’ gets dimmer as it goes on
The indie horror film “Dark Summer” from director Paul Solet and writer Mike Le takes us inside the house arrest of 17-year-old convicted cyberstalker Daniel (Keir Gilchrist).
Sporting an ankle monitor and subject to sneering treatment from a parole officer (Peter Stormare) but with no immediate parental supervision (his single mom is away), Daniel manages to get around his no-Internet punishment thanks to his tech savvy and some accommodating friends (Stella Maeve and Maestro Harrell).
When temptation gets the best of him and he contacts his pretty, socially unattainable but now judicially declared off-limits obsession Mona (Grace Phipps), poltergeist-y stuff ensues that leads Daniel to believe there’s a supernatural plot to exact revenge on him.
Although this sounds like a piquant fantasy for unwarranted-attention victims everywhere, the true mistreatment is directed toward the moviegoer, who has to endure enough stale pseudo-shocks, empty atmospherics, explanatory mumbo-jumbo and personality-free acting that it’s hard not to think of viewing “Dark Summer” as running-time served.
“Dark Summer.”
No MPAA rating.
Running time: 1 hour, 21 minutes.
Playing: Arena Cinema, Hollywood.
Only good movies
Get the Indie Focus newsletter, Mark Olsen's weekly guide to the world of cinema.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
