Dark Country

 

 

At the end of the road ...the nightmare begins ...

Dark Country - A film. A graphic novel. A short story.
Bringing together the actor and director Thomas Jane, screenwriter Tab Murphy, concept/ storyboard artist David Allcock and Swiss scratchboard artist extraordinaire Dark Country is a strange tale occurring along a desolate Nevada desert road featuring
a newly-married couple who tied the knot in Vegas. Their honeymoon becomes nightmare when in the dark they hit a man wandering along the lonely road. This is only the beginning of their nightmare...

The feel and look of  the film Dark Country (2009) is very reminiscent of both Film Noir and of old EC suspense and horror comics. The opening sequence with voiceover is hardboiled to the point of parody (due to regulations on film length extra scenes needed to be added. This included the early scenes). It shouldn't put off  people from progressing with the film though. What unravels is a grittier Twilight Zone type tale. It could have perhaps benefited from being a similar length and whilst it is not perfect, I found it very enjoyable and it is worth seeing for those interested in the uncannier shades of Noir.

 

 David Allcock - Storyboards and concept sketches

The imagery in Dark Country is certainly among its strongest points. Geoff Boyle's cinematography certainly catches the mood and is very evocative of comic book art. Things come a little full circle (which is apt for this story) as when making this film one of Thomas Jane's inspirations were the dark silent-narrative comics of Thomas Ott (an artist whom I will likely return to on this blog). In 2013 a graphic novel adaptation illustrated by Ott was released.

Additional concept designs were done by the extremely talented comic book artist Bernie Wrightson.

Illustrations from the graphic novel adaptation by Thomas Ott.