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DARK CITY 1998
New Line Cinema
Rated: USA: R |
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“First,
there was darkness. Then came ‘The Strangers’. They were a race
as old as time itself. They had mastered the ultimate technology, the
ability to alter physical reality by sheer willpower alone. They called
this power ‘tuning’.
But
they were dying.
The
Strangers abandoned their world, searching the cosmos for a cure to their
own mortality. Their quest brought them to a small, distant blue world.
Our world . . . ”
So begins
DARK CITY, a 1998
cyber-noir thriller Directed by Alex Proyas (THE
CROW, I, ROBOT). Proyas and fellow screenwriters Lem Dobbs and David S. Goyer
(DEMONIC TOYS, THE PUPPET MASTERS, CROW: The City Of
Angels, BLADE, BLADE
II) have created a gritty and, well . . . dark tale that asks the
question “What is real?”. Indeed, by the end of this film, you
may find yourself questioning your own reality as well.
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Dr. Daniel
Poe Schreber (Keifer Sutherland: LOST
BOYS, FLATLINERS, THE VANISHING [U.S. Version]) has betrayed
his own race by helping The Strangers perform experiments on mankind.
One of those "experiments" is a man who may or may not be John
Murdoch (Rufus Sewell: SHE-CREATURE). He
awakes in a bathtub, naked and clueless as to who he is, how he arrived
there, or who the dead girl in the bedroom is. Schreber, who is secretly
plotting against The Strangers, warns Murdoch that he is in danger and
the confused man flees into the night, desperately holding on to a solitary
clue as to his real identity, a postcard for a place called Shell Beach.
Our mystery
man's dire predicament is just beginning however. Not only is John being
pursued by The Strangers, a woman who may or may not be his estranged
wife Emma (Jennifer Connelly: PHENOMENA, WAKING
THE DEAD, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, THE HULK, DARK WATER)
is also on his trail.
To make matters
worse, Police Inspector Bumstead (William Hurt:
ALTERED STATES, THE VILLAGE), who may or
may not be a real officer, would also like a word with John about five
dead prostitutes. Hurt’s portrayal of Bumstead is among his finer
work. This is a man who stoically goes about his job, trying to ignore
the world that is literally falling apart around him.
But as Bumstead’s
reality begins to crumble, he finds himself seeking the same answers that
John is after.
It is impossible
to go into detail about this film without giving away the plot. Suffice
to say it is a masterpiece of Sci-Fi/Horror paranoia that mixes a unique
blend of storytelling elements. Fans of THE X-FILES, THE CROW, BLADE RUNNER,
and ANGEL HEART are sure to enjoy this movie. Laden with breath-taking
special effects by Andrew Mason (THE MATRIX),
3D FX by Dan Kaufman (THE RELIC,
THE SHINING [TV], VIRUS) and blessed
with an intelligent and intriguing script, DARK
CITY is a dark treat in which nothing is as it seems.
I give it
four shriek girls.
This review
copyright 1999 E.C.McMullen Jr.
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TRIVIA
Jennifer Connelly has pretty much dedicated her career to intelligent
movies and Horror Thrillers are no exception.
In addition to
DARK CITY
she has also acted in
PHENOMENA,
LABRYNTH,
WAKING THE DEAD,
REQUIEM FOR A DREAM,
THE HULK.
There
were a rash of "Unknown Reality" films in addition to
DARK CITY
and many of the same people that worked on this picture also worked
on Warner Bros.
THE MATRIX (1999)
and Columbia Pictures
THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR (1999).
THE MATRIX was not only made by much of the crew who worked on DARK CITY, but it was shot using the same sets.
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