Darkness Falls (JLV Pictures – 2016) Review

The 15-minute science fiction/thriller Darkness Falls is directed, written, edited and produced by Jarno Lee Vinsencius (don’t forget the cinematography too!). Starring one central main character, this Swedish origin short film is both gripping and artistic to watch.

A woman named Melissa wakes with no memory of who she is. She has nightmares that make no sense and sees a shrink. Before long she meets a man named David who is willing to shed some truth on the matter.

The narrative for Darkness Falls is curious and mysterious, moving well and never leaving you in a dull moment. Without giving away spoilers, I was fascinated by how the narrative panned out. Saying this, I also questioned whether we needed more time to show what had happened to Melissa in the two-week time jump. How did she adjust? What did she do in this time? Was she influenced more than we know?

I would also have liked to spend more time with the characters, especially Felix whose story seemed just as interesting as Melissa’s. In spite of this, we do need to be reminded that Darkness Falls is a short film and there are time limitations plus we never know, there might have been more scenes filmed that couldn’t make the final cut.

A highlight was the cinematography too. With slick, clean and beautifully crafted shots, it was clear that time and effort had been made. Something that I’ve always noticed is that indie films and short films tend to master cinematography to a higher degree that big budget movies. Moments tend to be dwelled in and conversations feel more realistic. Such a moment happened in Darkness Falls when David sheds some truth to Melissa.

By the end of Darkness Falls, I had a longing to see more, perhaps with another continued short. I’d love to see where Melissa’s story takes her and how she deals with what she knows by the end of the short.