I was intrigued when I got this DVD as it was a horror movie from Czechoslovakia, a country from which I’ve never seen a horror movie before.  Because I know that wet females scare the crap out of the Japanese and dead orphans frighten the Spanish like no one’s business.  But what gives the Czechs the willies?  Apparently a mix of mental issues and a little torture porn.  At least that’s what seems to be the case with Juraj Herz’s Darkness, aka T.M.A. (which I still have no idea what that stands for).  

The story is about Marek, a guitarist in a rock band, who quits to pursue his passion for painting.  He returns to his childhood home outside of a small town in order to work in peace and quiet.  Which you know won’t last long.  The small town is creepy, the people are creepy, but they saved the creepiest of all for Marek’s childhood home, which is known as Schwartzstein.  You know things won’t go right when your house has an evil sounding name like that.  C’mon son!

The house makes noises, the utilities hardly work, a radio only plays children signing a nursery rhyme, there’s a dungeon-like basement with a door marked “Verboten” (aka forbidden), a history of ancient human sacrifice and Nazi occupation and it looks like the place is about to fall down at any moment.  The house is basically a David Fincher wet dream.  The story tries to set up that Marek may be going mad and questioning his sanity, but it just seems he’s oblivious as to how unsettling the house actually is.  He continues to stay in the house even when he sees and everyone in town lets him know something just ain’t right.  And when his childhood dog apparently shows up after 35 years and he doesn’t question that on any level.  So personally, I think the guy is an idiot and deserves what’s coming to him.  

Unfortunately, this particular Czech horror movie doesn’t really deliver.  There are some disturbing scenes and some decent underplayed CGI work.  But overall there just isn’t enough of a payoff.  The whole descent into madness really doesn’t start to play out until about an hour into the film.  And the only reason that becomes apparent is because his paintings start to take a more sinister tone…and he’s sweating more.  And the fact that just about every single person in town has a “secret” is more annoying than suspenseful.  So this attempt to mix a haunted house story with a psychological thriller doesn’t mesh.  You get an early set up, a very late buildup and then it just kind of ends on you out of nowhere.  But I will give them credit for this, there’s plenty of skin.  I wasn’t really expecting it, so props to Juraj for supplying enough nudity to keep me interested.  

According to Marek, “Everybody is afraid of something in the dark.”  And based on this movie, the Czech are really scared of cliché horror tropes.