"Dark Was the Night" and "Monster Hunter" are the same film. The small quiet town of Maiden Woods (Pop. 243) appears to be annoyed by a "Bigfoot" type creature as the virgin woods to the north is being harvested. Sheriff Paul Shields (Kevin Durand) who has some personal problems getting over the death of his son , is aided by Luke Haas (the kid from "Witness" all grown up) as they try to solve the problem of the missing horse, pets, and strange footprints all over town. The drama and action build up slow until the end when we get to see the creature (unless you have the UK DVD "Monster Hunter" then it's on the plot spoiler cover).People acted fairly civil in this film. The drama was mostly internal conflicts, i.e. Sheriff Paul fighting his own demon within until he has to face the legend of the woods. The slowness of the movie had "TV production" written all over it. For those who prefer high drama, low action horror, with character development, this one has it.

Dark Was The Night is a relatively engaging creature feature that benefits from appropriate pacing and adequate acting on the part of the participants. Kevin Durand delivers a fine performance as a quirky and moody character, elevating him above most generic characters in more mundane and mediocre horror flicks. I'd have to say none of the actors delivers a gut wrenchingly bad performance, though none will win an Academy Award.DWTN also proves you can make a relatively engaging horror flick without a lot of fancy CGI or FX. In addition to the calculated pacing (not too fast or too slow, IMHO), Jack Heller uses simple set creations, plot devices and staging to heighten the tension and mystery, never revealing too much too soon. Coupled with decent character development, a fairly good story line, and an above average script (for this kind of low budget creature feature), it makes the flick work for most of it's 90+ minutesAs many have observed, the movie falls victim to trite mechanisms toward the end, making it just short of anti-climactic in its predictability. The creature was somewhat interesting, but the sub- standard CGI made it less believable. Heller and the writer then proverbially club the viewer over the head with a disingenuous twist at the very end, no doubt set up to introduce a future sequel. (I will not reveal it here, as I don't want to introduce a TOTAL spoiler).Suffice it to say, DWTN is a relatively entertaining creature feature that should hold your attention throughout. Not a movie you'd need to see twice, but much better than a lot of the tripe I've been viewing lately.

I really enjoyed this movie it wasn't the same old rubbish involving some annoying kids who go out into the woods & get killed one by one. This was well written & well-acted with depth to the characters involved. The story line keeps you intrigued as to what is going to happen next & whether the Sheriff (Kevin Durand) will come through his hardship & face his demons in more ways than one. The pain of losing a child was etched all over the sheriff's face. The heartache of not only losing his child but then blaming himself & retreating from the people who love him was well portrayed. Yes there could have been more of the creature in this film but it didn't take much away from the film. It is not a slasher blood & gore kind of horror it is a leave it to your imagination kind of film which keeps you hooked right to the end. The ending was a bit predictable but still the film held up well to any good horror I have seen over the last few years. Good to see Kevin Durand have a good lead role I have only ever seen him in the Strain & for all it is a bit B movieish at times he plays a good part in that show & this proves he is a good actor & can deliver. A good Movie that keeps you in suspense from start to finish. 7 out of 10 for me.

Wow, this film made me want to kick someone ... mainly whatever douche in a suit insisted on a) showing the monster at the end and then b) tacking a cheap "teaser" ending onto the whole thing, just in case you had missed the fact that you had just been insulted with bad CGI.As other reviewers have pointed out, this film LOOKS great. The cinematography is top-notch and the limited color palette underscores both the creepiness of the story, and the emotional troubles of the main characters. The performances are surprisingly heart-felt and subtle for a "horror movie," especially that of Kevin Durand, who sometimes comes off like Christopher Walken's sensitive (and less drop-dead weird) younger brother.Finally, I must say that the Wendigo legend is a favorite of mine, especially via Algernon Blackwood's clunky but creepy-as-hell short story.... and up until the end, Dark Was the Night is a GREAT telling of the Wendigo tale. The early not-even-glimpses of the creature are unsettling. The film has pretty much everything going for it, and then ...... in the climactic battle at the end, we see the monster, dead on. And it is lousy. I reeled from its CGI crumminess. I think I may have gasped. I felt ripped off, fooled, violated and insulted. But that producer in a suit (see above) wasn't done with me yet. The very last thing HAD to be the equivalent of the giant quivering "?" at the end of so many B movies in the 50s. And all that subtlety is flushed straight down the crapper for the sake of a cheap shot.I'd love to talk to the director and find out what happened. Given the quality of the bulk of this film, the ending CANNOT have been his idea.