Absence of Light review

This film from 2006 tells the tale of a highly respected researcher who is on the brink of engineering a synthetic humanoid who possesses superhuman strength, in other words, the ultimate soldier. There are, however, forces at work who want to use his invention for the dark side.

Agents Sultan and Puritan are sent to protect Criswell a corrupt senator who is desperately seeking re-election, and is equally desperate to keep his sordid skeletons in the cupboard. If these intrepid agents fail in their quest to regain the balance between good and evil, a new era of darkness will soon overwhelm them all.

There are two sinister powers at war with the prize being the ultimate control over politics inNorth America. The first power is called Plague, and is run by an ex-government operative only known as whiplash, and his goal is to create as much discord and chaos as possible in order to consolidate the power of his organisation within world affairs.

The second power, and very much the lesser of the two evils, is called Section 8,  run by another operative who goes by the suitably sinister name of ‘The Higher Power’. He works for his high paying clients and blackmails, assassinates and infiltrates as they see fit.

Absence of Light kicks of with an intro from one Michael Berryman, for the uninitiated, he is the star of one of the best horror films ever made; The Hills have Eyes. Now having Berryman to introduce another horror immediately instils in you that tingle of excitement that you are about to view something very special, will it follow through and take us on a real thrill fest? There is no satisfaction in telling you that no, it certainly doesn’t.

First off is that its hard to believe this is a film from 2006, as everything smacks of the 90′s. The whole styling is very retro, and whether this is intentional or due to a restricted budget is hard to tell. There are some good names in the opening credits too; Caroline Munro, David Hess, Tom Savini also add to the anticipation, but they are stuck with such mundane and underdeveloped characters that we soon forget they are there.

After sticking with it for around 77, very long, minutes, you realise that this is no horror film, and certainly goes to prove that even the best names in the horror genre can not turn a mundane film into anywhere near a good one. Even the appearance of Michael Berryman as a supernatural character is lacklustre and how this film ever got backing and made it to the big screen at all is one of those conundrums to which there is no answer.

Those who consider Lake Placid 3 to be the worst horror film ever made need to sit through this stinker, and 77 minutes has never felt so like 8 hours before. This DVD does have its uses however, and will make a fortune if marketed correctly; as a sedative or insomnia cure.