TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

foutainoflife This one is a little different. I loved the atmosphere of this film. It was moody, vulnerable and intriguing. It was well enough to keep interest but it was really slow. Even for slow burner it was slow. You ride a slow burner because you want that explanation, payoff or epiphany to be waiting at the end. I didn't get that with this movie.Sure, it was creepy. Kids can be some of the best conductors for creepiness and this little girl really gave off that creep vibe. (Maybe I found her so creepy because she walked around with a blank look in her eyes and her mouth open all the time. It was like watching a cold, dead fish that had sprouted legs and started walking around. Very weird and I hope that was done intentionally.) However, great creepiness and slow burning need a great pay off.So, what was her deal? Was she just a scared little girl who had telekinetic abilities that she was learning to use? Had she been abused in a manner that made her take these powers and smite those she felt were doing wrong like some sort of dark protective angel? Heck she may have even been possessed. I know I can't have been the only one who had to do a WTF look around when she and the other kids started acting and speaking like adults. I mean she hardly talked at all but then all of a sudden it was like she was an old woman with her "these days" comment about schooling. Another question about the other kids was my wondering what this new posse was going to be doing after all this?It comes down to this. The movie is well made and well acted. It is creepy, dark, moody with lots of intrigue but for me, the ended just didn't sit well with me. I wanted a better understanding.

vcdoscostas Absolutely second-rate. The only thing to be remembered was the darkness on the screen.There should be more of it to see less what was going on. Acting and kids were not bad though but the story and the camera just awful. I have made a note of the name of M. De Van to escape it if I ever come across it. I have a lot of spare time but it is a nuisance still to have wasted 90 minutes on this.

loveskulls I'm very disappointed--yet not surprised--by so many of these bad reviews. Increasingly, American viewers (and I'm saying this as an American) prefer to shelve their heads during a movie and mentally coast, too impatient to analyze subtext, allegory and unpleasant truths. However--and this is as generous as I can be towards the "it was stupid, it was boring, too slow, nothing happens, etc etc" simplistic complaints I've read--this movie confronts a brutal reality that is understandably difficult for many people to face: the physical and sexual abuse of children.And, while I loathe the term, "trigger", I recognize that this movie might be traumatic for people who survived that sort of brutality...or, you may (as I did) appreciate a film which was directed by a person brave enough to expose this ugliness...without being exploitative. While there are plenty violent scenes for those who prefer exploding heads and simpleminded slasher morality, this film is probably too nuanced and complex for the disheartening puerile tastes of American audiences, who seem to expect an evisceration within five minutes of the opening credits.Is it a perfect film? No. I agree that the ending is a bit maddening, but--and I don't believe in spoilers--the ending is NOT a mystery. There are subtle hints throughout the film that not is all as it seems with those who seem, on the surface, to be benevolent, helpful figures. Still, if the viewer will simply pay attention to the actions and reactions of Niamh to the adults surrounding her, the ending is fairly clearcut...albeit, not hammered into your skull with a sledgehammer.If you want straight-up, scare-jumps--and I love horror, just not unoriginal torture porn or one-dimensional characters whom serve no purpose other than to be slasher-chum--then watch Babadook or The Exorcist; but if you want to watch a dark, bleak, unflinchingly honest film--which uses supernatural elements as an allegory for the hidden horrors of a child permanently damaged resulting from horrifying but hushed violence--then Dark Touch is a very good, in spite of its minor flaws..In other word, if you need every single element of a movie explained so that a toddler would understand, then don't sprain your brain--stick to Freddy Krueger versus God or whatever...however, if you are a horror fan who craves originality, complex characters and, you know, an actual PLOT, then I highly recommend Dark Touch.

CelluloidDog Dark Touch ranks with such horror disasters such as Children of the Corn. The first few minutes is stylish but that's all. The script is hackneyed, acting is weak, and plot is bizarre. People say it's about an abused girl. Not quite, but rather it is society's view of what abuse is. We think we recognize it, we think we know its symptoms and we take an adults view how an abused child reacts to situations. This is actually more about hiding and misinterpreting abuse. Adults seem to think they know what's happening, but they don't. We see slapping and yelling. But it doesn't justify what Niamh does. Consider who Niamh killed in the beginning (I can't give it away), someone young and innocent. Again, she kills dozens of innocent, young people. Not just adults. So for those who think it's about abuse, think again. That's a clouded perception which audience are just as clueless as the adults in the film. Everyone suspect abuse, but can't put a finger on it. It's really more a classical tale of poltergeists, that children can manipulate (if you are unsure, look it up). It really is about evil and poltergeists, how we can misinterpret what that is. That is, poltergeists are considered delusions from ambiguous stimuli. That actually describes what happens in this movie. It's never clear what exactly triggers the whistling or object movements to kill but they occur with Niamh's crying and thoughts. Missy Keating who plays Niamh (or Neve) plays only two emotions, one flat lacking expression and the other screaming. Supporting actors are mostly one-dimensional. Script is weak at times and the plot wanders around. The ending is very bizarre with Niamh and her two sidekicks. It's a bad version of Firestarter. About the same time, I saw this movie, I saw one about real abuse, in Jug Face. The latter is also about a girl, much older, in a superstitious cult. A far superior film.