DARK SENSE (2019)
Magnus Wake’s Dark Sense is, along with Matriarch and Dark Highlands one of several recent horror films to come from Scotland, not a country previously known for its genre output. Based on the bestseller First and Only by Peter Flannery it’s a tale of a psychic with a strange link to a serial killer.
Simon (Shane O’Meara, Weaverfish) has a vision of his own death at the hands on a serial killer. As a child, he witnessed one of his killings and was nearly killed himself. That left him so traumatized his powers became dormant, until now.
With only 5 days to track down the killer and save himself, he hires Steve (Jim Sturgeon, 666: A Demon Within) an ex SAS operative with his own set of issues as a bodyguard. However, Simon’s abilities have also caught the attention of MI5 who send Agents Stokes (Graeme McKnight) and Sonia (Margaret Ann Bain) after him. And that may pose a bigger threat than the killer.
The idea of a psychic who has visions of a killer’s crimes isn’t a new one. However, the way it’s told here is, apart from a slight nod to Brian De Palma’s The Fury, a fairly unique one. Part supernatural thriller, part mystery. Dark Sense is even part espionage film, (MI5 for those that don’t know, is a branch of British Intelligence). As horrific as the murders Mal (James Robinson) commits are, there’s little blood to be seen. Mal himself is a bit undeveloped until near the film’s end. I wish they’d done a bit more with the character.
Dark Sense broke the record for the most money raised for a Scottish film via crowdfunding. That still gave it a relatively low budget, about $67,000. It made it’s premiere earlier this year at the Boston Sci-Film Festival. It will make its UK debut on June 5th at the Celtic Media Festival.
Dark Sense is available now in North America from Breaking Glass Pictures. It’s no classic, but it is an enjoyably different take on a familiar theme. You can keep updated via its Facebook page.