Director: Thomas Jane
Starring: Thomas Jane, Lauren German and Ron Perlman
**
The eerily empty deserts of the American south-west have long provided a naturally spooky backdrop for all manner of horror stories, crime capers and things that go bump in the night. Set along the lost highways of Nevada, Dark Country is a knowing throwback to the classic era of cut-price film noir - all those fatalistic thrillers about hard-boiled men and desperate women forced into murderously tight corners.
An actor best known for trashy B-movie roles, Jane steps behind the camera for the first time to direct himself as a newlywed man on a late-night drive through the desert with his young bride. After running down a mysterious figure in the road, the duo's journey takes a nightmarish turn that leads to murder, abduction and shock revelation.
Made on a tight budget in 25 days, Dark Country is shot in a stylised green-screen manner that accentuates its schlocky roots in comic books and pulp fiction. This is no great problem, as film noir has always been much more about mood than budget. Sadly, though, a clunky and muddled script, bland performances and groaningly predictable plot twists ensure that a promising first act soon becomes a routine detour into the Twilight Zone. Disappointing.
