Dark Nature is a 2009 British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 thriller film written by Eddie Harrison, directed by Marc de Launay, and starring Niall Greig Fulton, Vanya Eadie and Imogen Toner

Imogen Toner

Imogen Toner is a British actress of stage and screen. Aside from appearances in multiple fringe plays including The Not So Fatal Death of Grandpa Fredo and more recognised works such as Snow White, and Around the World in 80 Days she is perhaps best known for her appearances in the Scottish...

. Shot on a small budget, it was filmed in the Scottish Highlands from September to October 2008 before receiving a limited cinematic showing in 2009. The film went on to be released on DVD

DVD

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 and BluRay in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in May 2010.

Plot

Jane and her family travel to Scotland to spend time with Jane's mother. Unbeknownst to Jane and her family, their relatives have been murdered by a sinister force, and that dark and unnatural something remains, waiting for them. Despite her best efforts, the already established tensions with her daughter Chloe only manage to escalate, while her son and her lover have troubles of their own.

Cast

• Vanya Eadie as Jane
• Imogen Toner
  Imogen Toner
  Imogen Toner is a British actress of stage and screen. Aside from appearances in multiple fringe plays including The Not So Fatal Death of Grandpa Fredo and more recognised works such as Snow White, and Around the World in 80 Days she is perhaps best known for her appearances in the Scottish...
  
   as Chloe
• Niall Greig Fulton as McKenzie
• James Bryce as Jonathan
• Len McCaffer as Alex
• Joanna Miller as Emily
• Jane Stabler as Magda
• Tom Carter as Hayward
• Callum Warren-Brooker as Sean
• Dorren McGillivray as Mrs Petrie

Reception

Dark Nature received generally mixed reviews from critics. Detroit Burns of film review website Sound on Sight applauded the film, stating "It's strong point is patience and a commitment to build up. The use of the rich Scottish landscape and maniacal score create a stark and tense atmosphere, an atmosphere that the film creates very well." He did, however, criticize the film's pace and general stillness, stating that Dark Natures "weakness is in the film's hesitance to go one-step further" and that "it's death scenes are rather anti-climatic and serve no purpose other than the elimination of a character from the rest of the script". Light entertainment blog Pop Matters called the film "pristine" and "practically popping off the screen in its shot of digital dynamic", but attacked director Marc de Launay for "trying to redefine the category, taking much of the mystery out of your standard slice and dice". Horror fansite Horrortalk applauded the film as a "quiet and deliberately paced look at the balance between man and nature" and considered the film to echo "the more existential cinema of the 1970s" and that it focuses on "internal struggle while adding horror elements". Horrortalk did, however, admit that the results of such elements were mixed.

Gordon Sullivan of DVD Verdict

DVD Verdict

DVD Verdict is a judicial themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. Current editor in chief is Michael Stailey, who also reviews for Rotten Tomatoes...

moderately approved the film. Further to applauding it's cinematography, Sullivan congratulated Marc de Launay as building a "dread-soaked atmosphere". He stated "The family relationship is the best part of the film by far", claiming "they display some very good chemistry". While considering the film to be itself confused as to "whether it wants to be a slice-and-dice thriller or an eco-horror film", Sullivan nonetheless considered that de Launay "shows himself to be a skilled young filmmaker with a good sense of humor and a knack for atmosphere". He went on to say "There aren't a lot of jokes in the film, but I caught myself laughing at a few of the darker situations. The director balances the humor nicely with the dread, which comes through strongly in the foggy shores of the Scottish landscape".

The film was further reviewed by Joseph Howell, Scottish newspaper Daily Record

Daily Record (Scotland)

The Daily Record is a Scottish tabloid newspaper based in Glasgow. It had been the best-selling daily paper in Scotland for many years with a paid circulation in August 2011 of 307,794 . It is now outsold by its arch-rival the Scottish Sun which in September 2010 had a circulation of 339,586 in...

, film websites Mad Mad Movies and Horror Movie A Day as well as other online critics.