Super Dark Times (2017) Review – A Dreamy and Disturbing 90s Thriller

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today, we are reviewing Kevin Phillips’ psychological thriller Super Dark Times (2017).

Slow burn psychological thriller

Super Dark Times follows the story of best friends Josh (Charlie Tahan) and Zach (Owen Campbell). The pair spend a lot of time together and also frequently hang out with another pair of local boys. The group ride bikes, chat, and generally do what teens do. The bliss of innocent childhood fun is quickly disrupted after a horrible accident leads to a situation that threatens to splinter the group, causing the once close Josh and Zach to go in separate, drastically different directions.

“The bliss of innocent childhood fun is quickly disrupted after a horrible accident leads to a situation that threatens to splinter the group, causing Josh and Zach to go in separate, drastically different directions.”

Super Dark Times is, predominantly, a slow-burning psychological thriller but there’s a seriously dark theme at play. There’s also an excellent modern retro aesthetic that we will talk about more in just a little. We see the story unfold from the perspective of our main character Zach. I don’t want to spoil anything but let’s just say that Zach is at the centre of a horrible accident that causes his world, and that of his friends, to unravel.

The story follows his attempts to cope with the initial shock of the situation, as well as his journey towards getting his life back on track. Weaved into this is a romance subplot just to add a little extra seasoning to the story. It sounds very ordinary but it’s actually fairly compelling stuff. The best way to look at it is, perhaps, as a coming-of-age story with a crime element. Think Summer of 84 or The Dirties and you are in the right ballpark.

Small town American horror

Super Dark Times is set against a backdrop of 90s small-town America and this is something I absolutely love. It lends a sense of intimacy to the movie that makes you feel as though you recognise the location. Naturally, I am Welsh so I didn’t grow up around this type of place but it could be any small town from American movies or TV series.

Events that occur in the movie feel tightly contained and there is a sense that everyone knows everyone else. I’ll come back to that point in just a second because it is quite important. The teens here are somewhere in the middle of the popularity spectrum and are hitting that point in their lives where things start to change. They have to face the all-too-common issues of navigating school while dealing with complex new emotions and burgeoning relationships. The only difference is, these teens have to do that while also facing the consequences of the trauma caused by the accident they were involved in.

Now when I mentioned that the town is small and everyone knows everyone else, it’s more important than it might seem. Let’s just say, Zach and Josh are in a desperate fight against time to avoid people discovering the secret that they are keeping. Their odd behaviour immediately places them at a disadvantage. They need to act normally, but how can they? This desperation forces their friendship to splinter as they hold each other’s feet to the proverbial fire. What’s more, the winter is drawing to an end soon and what will the ice and snow’s departure reveal? It’s gripping stuff.

An authentic flashback to the 90s

Super Dark Times is an absolutely gorgeous movie. A visual feast that looks every bit as dreamy as the postcard-like setting hints. Shots of the boys riding their bikes over long bridges are some of my favourite in horror. A lot of indie movies think they look this good but few actually do.

“I am a huge Midwest Emo music fan and Super Dark Times looks, at times, like a Midwest Emo album cover. This could be the movie version of a Mineral or Midwest Penpals’ song.”

The movie takes place in an unspecified part of the 90s which offers a really nice aesthetic. From the bikes to the bomber jackets, from the large phones to the televisions. This is a movie that will sing to people who grew up in that era. Being a 90s kid myself, it’s somewhat funny to see a movie recreate it so perfectly. It takes me right back to jumping on my bike to ride to a friend’s house on the off chance that they were home.

There is something of an innocence to that age that we are all a bit guilty of buying into. Everything seemed a bit simpler then and that plays heavily into the drastic shift the kids in the movie experience. It’s a classic story of the death of innocence. One minute they are riding their bikes and having fun, the next their lives are changed forever. I am a huge Midwest Emo music fan and Super Dark Times looks, at times, like a Midwest Emo album cover. It’s something I really love about it. This could be the movie version of a Mineral, or Midwest Penpals song. It’s fantastic.

Decent acting

Acting is great, pretty much throughout. The only performance I didn’t enjoy was Amy Hargreaves as Zach’s mum. There is an over-the-top element to her performance that made me feel as though she was trying too hard to school these young actors. Elizabeth Cappuccino, as Allison, is fine but it’s the two leads who steal the show. Owen Campbell is great as Zach and does an excellent job of expressing the emotions and paranoia of the character.

Special mention has to go to Charlie Tahan’s brilliant portrayal of Josh, however. He is fantastic and thoroughly believable as the troubled teen who is both socially awkward and seemingly wary of the people around him. Some of the subtle things he does really make you chuckle and he does a great job of acting strange. Tahan absolutely stands out among what is a very talented cast.

It is worth pointing out that the majority of actors here were adults when this film was made. I have seen people praising the cast for being decent actors while still being school age. With the exception of one or two actors that isn’t the case. It doesn’t take away from their performances but it is a point that deserves mention.

The ending kind of lets it down…

My biggest complaint about Super Dark Times is the last 30 minutes or so. The movie has a runtime of 103 minutes and, for most of that time, it is slow-paced. The story unfolds, the characters react, time moves on, and nothing major happens. All of a sudden, everything escalates at a tremendous pace to the ultimate conclusion. This, for me, drags the movie down a fair bit.

The actions of one character, in particular, towards the end of the film make almost no sense. The character’s mental decline is not expanded on and happens mostly off-screen. It is unexplained and doesn’t feel at all organic unless viewed through the lens of the other characters who just see the result of said decline. There is no gradual progression of events, no exposition to explain how the character is feeling, and no explanation for why the character does what they do. The ending feels rushed and extremely sudden.

“It’s a dreamy postcard love letter to 90s small-town America and a captivating depiction of the shattering of innocence. Well-acted, beautifully filmed, and consistently enthralling.”

It doesn’t help that all of this leads up to a final segment that I imagine will disappoint many viewers. The whole thing feels out of place given the previous events of the movie and it ultimately doesn’t fit. It’s as though they had to wrap the story up, realised they maybe didn’t expand on the character enough, but went with the first draft ending anyway. More time was needed developing characters and that is detrimental to the conclusion. It feels very unearned and extremely rushed.

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A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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