AFTER DARKNESS (1985)
Article 3950 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-7-2012
Directed by Sergio Guerraz and Dominique Othenin-Girard
Featuring John Hurt, Julian Sands, Victoria Abril
Country: Switzerland
What it is: Art film

A professor decides to take his younger brother (who descended into madness after the death of his twin brother) out of an asylum and care for him himself. But is his own sanity strong enough to deal with his brother? And what happens when his assistant and former lover comes between them?

Despite the theme of madness that permeates the whole movie, this is definitely more art film drama than horror movie. It’s one of those types of movies that either draws you into its fragmented world or leaves you stranded with no real way to get in; unfortunately, this one took the second route for me, and despite the obvious talents of the cast involved, I became rather bored with this story of a man’s interminable descent into madness. What isn’t confusing in that art-movie way it has of expressing itself is more than a little obvious: I found little in the way of real surprises or real revelations. This one may well be a matter of taste.