Out of Darkness Cinema Review

4 star slaughter beneath the Northern Lights.

Out of Darkness is a 2022 British adventure horror thriller film. Originally known as The Origin, it has a screenplay by Ruth Greenberg and is directed by Andrew Cumming, in his feature directorial debut.

It is presented entirely in Tola, a fictional language created for the film, with English subtitles and will be showing in UK cinemas from 23rd February 2024, courtesy of Signature Entertainment.

“Enough! There are no demons. If we’d stayed where we were, you’d all be dead. But here, you have a chance. Because of me.”

Adem (Chuku Modu – Captain Marvel, Survive) is the leader of a small group  of starving prehistoric cave dwellers. They have braved a perilous sea journey to reach the shores of a new world in pursuit of his childhood promised land. He is accompanied by his brother Geirr (Kit Young – Shadow and Bone, The School For Good and Evil), son Heron (Luna Mwezi – Needle Park Baby) and pregnant partner Ave (Iola Evans – Phea). Also along for the journey are ‘stray’ Beyah (Safia Oakley-Green – The Colour Room) and Odal (Arno Lüning), an elder who Adem has brought along for his wisdom.

It has not been a success however, they are yet to find a place to settle, food is scarce to non existent and to make matters worse, it seems as though some sort of malignant being may be hunting them in the darkness. When Heron is taken, the rest of the group must pull together to try and find what happened to him.

“The foothills will be full of caves. In two or three days we’ll be safe and warm in our new home and all of this will belong to us. I promise you,”

Out of Darkness is an excellent watch. The decision to film in the Scottish Highlands is inspired, the wild landscapes are easily believable as the world as it was 45,000 years ago. The suspense is built beautifully and the whole film is extremely immersive. The use of a unique language is a really good idea and works very well. The costumes are also impressive and add to the atmosphere.

It is also an interesting look at the nature of humanity and tribalism and it’s surprising twist is actually really sad. It’s a brutal and stark representation of a period of human history we know little about and it feels very authentic. The cinematography is amazing and the simple storyline and great acting make this well worth a trip to the cinema.

“Light a fire. We light a fire, or we die in the dark.”

Signature Entertainment presents Out of Darkness only in cinemas 23 February