Review - Dark Floors (2008)

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I remember seeing the previews for this film a while back and thinking that it would be one of the best films of the year, well, it was a pretty damn good movie but I would not call it the best movie. It was a pretty good movie but goddamn was it confusing. From what I can gather, the film was about a group of people who get into a hospital elevator only be taken to a parallel universe type place where time has stopped, different floors are on different times and the whole place is inhabited by monsters. The film focuses on a young autistic girl who provides the key to their escape. There are a number of things I liked about this movie but there was one big flaw in it that I hade a huge problem with.

The one thing that I noticed right away when I was watching this was the dark fantasy-like setting these characters were trapped in. At first, everything was sterile, bright and white but then things get dark and gloomy and it looks like a dungeon. I really enjoyed the set design as well as the lighting on this movie. It really brought a threatening unpromising atmosphere for the movie. In fact, the whole world is kind of ironic considering a hospital is a very clean and friendly place whereas this film takes that idea and dirties it up. It worked very well with the movie.

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When I first saw the monster (before I knew there were multiple monsters) I thought that it was going to be one of those movies where you see it’s just a guy in a zipper suit, but that’s not that case… the monsters in this movie were very well designed, they were original and they pulled it off brilliantly. Each monster has a different way of introducing himself and I really enjoyed how each of them did it. The monsters were actually pretty scary looking, and they had a medieval-rocker look to them that made them stand out from your classic undressed, reptilian or amphibian monster… something that I really enjoyed about this film.

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I was expecting this movie to have really bad acting, because every other thing was really good but I was wrong… it had pretty decent acting. The only thing that I wished it had was a bit more chemistry between the characters and on that note, I really wished the relationship between Ben and Sarah would have developed a little more. It seems like this movie should have a little more character development but I am not going to get hung up on that.

There were a few scares and I did jump out a bit, which is very hard for me to do nowadays but I did. Although, the one thing that really took me out of the movie was how confusing this movie can get. The whole thing takes place in different times but the same place and the whole reason why those monsters are even there gets obscured because of all the shit that is happening. I think this film wants to be smart but it does get very confusing and it backfires on them. At the end of the film I could not help but ask, “what the fuck happened?” because it was so puzzling. That is my ONLY complaint about this movie… is that it could have been thought out a little better.

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So looking back on it, it was a really good film and it had some really good aspects to it… a surprise hit for me considering my expectations. The overall production of this movie was well made and well thought of aside from a few minor complaints and some a confusing plot. As a horror fan, I loved it and I strongly recommend that if you enjoy good indie horror, you’ll really enjoy this movie too!