Enter The Dark - short film review (2010)

"Aaahh!!!"
- Me after the conclusion of Enter The Dark


With all the Paranormal Activities floating around the megaplexes and the Ghost Hunters crew dominating cable TV over the last few years, why would any independent filmmaker even try to complete with the big boys in the ghost story arena? A better question is what could an independent film maker do to separate himself from the rest of the pack with a smaller budget than his or her competitors? And how can someone accomplish that without being a cheap, total knockoff like Paranormal Entity?

Filmmaker Todd Miro answered that question with his short film, Enter The Dark.



Charles and his family are having a little problem with their home, but it's not high levels of radon or cracked heating pipes. You see, Charles believes his house is being occupied by some unearthly forces and he wants to rid them from his residence once and for all. After recording what seems to be one of his unwelcome ghostly house crashers, Charles recruits his buddy Rob to assist him on getting them out of the house so he can get on with his life.

On the flipside, Rob is really worried about Charles and his sanity. He offers to help his friend in a time of need, but he isn't buying Charles' ghost story and blames these apparition abnormalities on stress and other underlying factors. Rob is willing to do whatever he can to be real friend to his buddy even if it means running around the house in the dark for two hours before going out to ingest some alcohol at a local bar.



Is Charles really going mental or should Rob have gone out for those drinks before entering neck deep into a night of terror? You are going to have to watch it for yourself to find out.

At only a little over 15 minutes, it is hard to detail the story without giving away the whole film. What I will tell you is that while the plot might seem a little too familiar on the surface, the audience learns that this little flick is anything but formulaic once things get going.

I will say, and I am man enough to miss this embarrassment, that the ending not only made me let out a little yell (see my quote at the top of this review), but also do jump up in my seat. And I am honestly admitting my reaction as a credit to Mr. Miro's film making. I do not scare easily, so after a night of being bored out of my mind by Paranormal Activity 2, Miro provided me with something that I crave as a horror fan. A legitimate scare. And he accomplished that with his short film that has a running time three-fourths less than the aforementioned record-breaking film and shot for a heck of a lot less money to boot, which includes marketing and advertising.



I have said enough and refuse to spoil anything for potential viewers who wish to Enter the Dark. You can watch this film in the time it takes to eat your lunch and it still delivers a massive impact. Not only will you get a nice scare or two, but the film will have you walking away from it feeling a bit uneasy.

If I have to talk about any negatives, I wish it could be have been longer and actor Rob Sandusky was a bit irritating as Rob. However, the length is probably due to budgetary limitations and I am guessing that Rob's character was written to be that way for a reason. So in my finding any fault with this film, I really have to stretch as you can see. But the positives can be summed up by what Miro promises on the film's website in one sentence - it is scary.

Enter The Dark is now available to watch via Indie Flix. So you can go check it out in a matter of minutes after reading this review. For more information, check out the film's official website. Please go check this out to give yourself a post-Halloween treat.