Out of Darkness is a British-Scottish survival horror film scheduled for release in 2024 and it ventures into the primal fears of humanity’s early ancestors. Set 45,000 years ago during the Stone Age, the film immerses viewers into a world where survival is a struggle against both the wilderness and the human psyche.
As the film is directed by Andrew Cumming and the script is from Ruth Greenberg, the film avoids standard horrors and modern narrative tropes. Rather, it builds a world based on its time period which is raw, silent, ruthlessly cold, and suffocatingly bleak. The story unfolds in a fictional language (Tola) that was created for the film to make it more convincing and limit the need for exposition. This decision makes the film more alien and breathtaking, enhancing the raw emotional experience the audience undergoes.
🎬 Synopsis
Following a small group of early humans, the plot opens with them crossing a body of water in search of new land to settle in. The group is made up of Adem, the leader; Ave, his partner who is pregnant; Geirr, his ambitious brother; Heron, his son; Odal the elder; and Beyah, an outsider female who has recently joined and is now part of the group. They are driven by desperation and hunger as they seek a better life.
As the group travels through an inhospitable landscape for days, the feeling of being watched becomes strong. Strange sounds are heard in the distance, and shadows move at night. As suspicion and fear set in with the disappearance of one of their own, Heron, the lingering hostility begins to fester.
Believing they are being hunted by some predator, the group becomes paranoid and begins to spiral into deep mistrust. While Adem tries to maintain order in the group, Geirr grows increasingly aggressive. As the group mistrusts each other, Beyah becomes an outsider who is both scapegoat and unlikely heroine. Her instincts stand out as resilient and enable her to remain calm while the rest of the group turn on each other.
The group is pursued by something they believe to be a beast; however, it could be a human or simply a manifestation of their fears. Violence breaks out and the group begins to fight with each other. Beyah and Heron remain and are left to grapple with the understanding of both the inner evil and the external evil that lurks even beyond their campfires.
🎭 Performances and Characters
Chuku Modu as Adem shows the leader of the group who is holding on to the last remnants of sanity. He portrays the weight of a leader’s burden amid chaos with no semblance of order.
Beyah is played by Safia Oakley-Green and she marks a shift as the film’s main character. The change from sidelined participant to the story’s emotional backbone is striking. Her performance, while silent, is vibrant, strong, and achingly relatable.
As Geirr, Adem’s brother, Kit Young personifies the volatile tension that permeates the film. He portrays the split between rage and trepidation that is omnipresent within the group.
Alongside this cast, Iola Evans as Ave, Arno Lüning as Odal, and Luna Mwezi as Heron contribute to the ensemble, each adding depth to the disintegration of the small community. Their unspeaking, physical performances are strikingly timeless, yet freshly contemporary.
🎥 Direction and Cinematic Style
Andrew Cumming’s approach to direction prioritizes immersion and realism which makes for a striking feature debut. One of the film’s most notable artistic features is the use of a constructed language. This element enhances authenticity and strips away modern storytelling crutches, allowing the audience to appreciate the rawness of the characters’ experiences.
Shot in the Scottish Highlands, the film’s cinematography by Ben Fordesman captures the region’s majestic yet threatening beauty. Long, lingering shots of vast, empty landscapes emphasize the characters’ isolation. In contrast to this, tight, shaky camerawork in confrontational and chase sequences adds an immediacy and claustrophobia to the film.
Equally important is the sound design. With minimal dialogue, sound serves as a primary narrative device. Natural sounds—cracking twigs, rustling leaves, distant cries—heighten suspense. A composer for the film, Adam Janota Bzowski, provides a sparse yet haunting score that emerges at pivotal moments, underscoring emotional intensity.
🎯 Themes and Interpretations
Out of Darkness explores several rich themes:
Fear of the Unknown: The primal human fear of the unseen force that haunts the group. Whether the threat is beast or man, the uncertainty is what ultimately leads to their destruction.
Community and Survival: As the group’s fear and hunger increases, their cohesion starts to disintegrate. The film studies the balance between order and chaos, no matter how disparate the struggle is.
Outsider Identity: Beyah’s attempt to make sense of her circumstances speaks to broader themes of exclusion as well as fight-or-flight. She is not only physically estranged from the group, but also spiritually separated, and perceives the world more intuitively.
Human vs Nature vs Self: Nature can be unforgiving; however, the real conflict is within the group itself. The wild serves only as a backdrop for people to grapple with their primal nature.
The Origins of Violence: The lack of a governing body forces early human beings to determine whether any set of values should govern their actions. This film proposes that the urge to violently dominate others and dark forces may have always been part of us.
📊 Reception and Impact
The film was praised for its experimental and bold narrative structure alongside powerful performances and philosophical depth. Critics and audiences appreciated the minimalist storytelling, describing it as survival horror infused with arthouse sensibilities set in prehistoric times. Unlike other films in the genre, this film stood out because of its slow-burn tension and deep emotional impact.
The film was recognized for avoiding common beast movie cliches. The strategies utilized in the film, such as ambiguity and lack of exposition, were handled in a manner that some may not appreciate, while leaving enough room for interpretation to satisfy viewers that enjoy multi-layered cinema.
Safia Oakley-Green’s portrayal captured attention, along with the film’s unconventional features regarding dialect and adherence to the time period. The film’s low budget was spent on practical locations, skilled actors, and atmospheric tension instead of costly digital effects.
🔚 Conclusion
Out of Darkness can be classified as a cinematic work that fosters contemplation well after the credits roll. This film does not fit neatly into the box of a horror film; rather, it serves as an introspection on the human condition in a world devoid of order, law, or rationale. It strips away contemporary context to demonstrate the primal existence of fear, conflict, and the innate human struggle for survival.
Out of Darkness is ideal for those who desire a horror film rooted in reality, psychology, and richly woven themes. Through the lens of archetypal dread, the film exposes the ancient fears that haunt humanity, as well as the perpetual darkness that lingers just below the surface, even beneath the guise of light.
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