The 2024 film Dark Night of the Soul is, in a word, incredible. This inspiring tale of determination, rage and, finally; acceptance has become my favorite film of the year. S.J. Creazzo writes and directs this deep take on pandemics and, although touched upon in an oblique fashion, God.
The cast hammer this one home. It is a solid four star ensemble that delivers on so many different levels. All of whom have a set of bona fides that proves you get what you cast.
The Cast
Kristanna Loken is Alex. A scientist with the CDC. She is struggling to find a cure for a pandemic with an estimated 1% survival rate.
Martin Kove is Alex’s dad. The man who helped shape her into the woman she is today.
Jesse Kove is Daniel, a paramedic.
Paola Paulin is Julia, also a paramedic and Daniel’s partner.
Gabrielle Kalomiris is Amazonia; a Wonder Woman type hero.
Courtney Warner is Lori.
The Story
Dark Night of the Soul starts with a pandemic and there is no known cure. Dr Loken is desperately trying to find an answer. She is also dealing with personal tragedy and a growing sense of rage at her apparent helplessness.
Leaving the CDC, she becomes distracted and crashes her car. Alex is trapped in the vehicle and must wait to be rescued. As she lies helpless on the ground, the scientist takes another sort of journey.
This all works
Creazzo gives us a credit sequence at the beginning that is a nod to Zack Snyder and his remake of the classic Dawn of the Dead. “Popping music” backing a visual that is overwhelmingly apocalyptic. This sequence of events behind the opening credits tells us brilliantly just how dire things are for humanity in this world.
Another nod, or homage if you will, that Creazzo uses is the car crash itself. He allows those of us who are horror fans to relish this plot device. In The Omega Man Dr Robert Neville finds a vaccine to save the population from another type of pandemic. He also has a crash, but with quite different consequences. *The Omega Man is based on Richard Matheson’s brilliant The Last Man on Earth. A tale so good it has been made into a film at least three times.*
At least two “nods” right up front and there are most likely more that I missed.
It looks great
Dark Night of the Soul looks great. Cinematographer Pascal Combes-Knoke makes each frame count. There is a scene between Alex and her father. He is wearing glasses and her image, especially that blue top, show up in both lenses. A small detail, sure, but one that shows the meticulous care in filming this one.
You can take grandma
In terms of profanity? There is very little. No violence and the claret, aka blood spillage is discreet. There is also no nudity. This is one that the entire family can watch and enjoy and it is a splendid journey that Creazzo and co take us on.
The Verdict
I can easily give Dark Night of the Soul a solid 5 stars out of 5. All the cast brought their “A” game to this one. *Side note: It was great to see Martin Kove bring that gravitas to his crucial part.* The film was released on 12 November and is available on Prime Video.
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