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Super Dark Times

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Super Dark Times
Image
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKevin Phillips
Written byBen Collins
Luke Piotrowski
Produced byEdward Parks
Richard Peete
Jett Steiger
Starring
CinematographyEli Born
Edited byEd Yonaitis
Music byBen Frost
Distributed byThe Orchard
Release dates
  • January 29, 2017 (2017-01-29) (Rotterdam)
  • September 29, 2017 (2017-09-29) (United States)
Running time
103 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$33,109[1]

Super Dark Times is a 2017 American independent psychological thriller film, directed by Kevin Phillips and written by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski. It is Phillips' directorial debut,[2][3][4] and stars Owen Campbell, Charlie Tahan, Elizabeth Cappuccino, Max Talisman and Amy Hargreaves.[5][6][7][8] The plot follows the story of an inseparable pair of teenage boys who, after a traumatic accident, loses their innocence and sanity from jealousy, violence and paranoia.

Plot

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In 1996, in Upstate New York, two teenage best friends, Zach and Josh, rate the girls in their yearbook. They find a common interest in Allison.

After school, the duo crosses the path of the universally-disliked Daryl and his eighth-grade friend Charlie. Later that week, the four boys meet up at Josh's house where they look through the possessions of Josh's brother, who is away in the military, and find a bag of marijuana and a katana.

Afterwards, the boys play with the sword in a secluded park area bordering the local cemetery and notice that Daryl has stolen the marijuana. After a tense argument, Josh and Daryl fight, resulting in Daryl being accidentally stabbed in the neck with the katana. Daryl runs from the scene but only makes it into the adjacent forest where he dies. The boys panic and hide both Daryl's body and the weapon.

At school, rumors circulate about Daryl's disappearance. Zach has nightmares and Josh doesn't attend classes. Zach wants to return to Daryl's burial site and attend Allison's upcoming party with Josh, who declines but goes to Allison's party separately where he shares his brother's weed. Zach, disturbed, leaves.

Another student, John, is found dead. Rumors speculate that he fell off a bridge. Zach suspects that Josh is responsible for John's death. He returns to Daryl's burial site and finds the katana missing and Daryl's corpse mutilated.

Zach goes to Josh's home and realizes Josh is with Allison. He tracks her to Meghan's house, where Josh has killed Meghan with the katana and tied Allison up. After Zach unties her, the former friends fight until a neighbor intervenes and subdues Josh, who is arrested, while Zach's fate is left unknown.

Months later, Allison has recovered and returns to school. A camera shot shows three parallel lines on the back of her neck.

Cast

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Production

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The film was shot in Kingston, New York.[9] According to Phillips, the opening deer scene "was based on a deer in Pennsylvania that broke through the window of a school and bled to death on the ground."

Release

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The film premiered at the Rotterdam Film Festival.[10] It made its North American premiere on April 20, 2017, at the Tribeca Film Festival.[11] Deadline Hollywood reported that The Orchard had acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film in March 2017.[12] The film was released in theaters on September 29, 2017, and digitally on October 3, 2017.[13] It plays on Hulu streaming.[14]

Reception

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The film has a 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 48 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Rich in atmosphere and period detail, Super Dark Times is an effective teen thriller whose true power lies in its approach to deeper themes."[15] Metacritic reports a score of 75/100 based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[16]

David Ehrlich of IndieWire graded the film a B−.[17] In a favorable review, Sheila O'Malley of RogerEbert.com praised the young actors, writing that it is a film that prioritizes "mood over story" and that its "devotion to the harrowing emotional fallout of such an event" makes it better than other films of the same kind.[18]

Awards and nominations

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Super Dark Times won the best feature film award at the 17th Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival.[19] It was also the winner of Best Sound Design in a Feature Film at the 2017 Music+Sound Awards,[20] and received a nomination for the Saturn Award for Best Independent Film at the 44th Saturn Awards.[21] At the 33rd Independent Spirit Awards, Kevin Phillips was nominated for the Someone to Watch Award.[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Super Dark Times at Box Office Mojo
  2. ↑ Sokol, Tony (August 2, 2017). "Super Dark Times Trailer Reveals High School Horrors". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  3. ↑ Oller, Jacob (April 21, 2017). "Super Dark Times (2017 Tribeca Film Festival Review)". Paste. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  4. ↑ Evans, Greg (August 2, 2017). "'Super Dark Times' Trailer: Moment Of Horror Drives Harrowing Teen Drama". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  5. ↑ Miska, Brad (April 21, 2017). "[Tribeca Review] 'Super Dark Times' is a Teenage Nightmare". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  6. ↑ Martin, Philip (May 5, 2017). "Super Dark Times". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  7. ↑ Tallerico, Brian (July 20, 2017). "FANTASIA 2017, DAY 6: "BAD GENIUS," "SUPER DARK TIMES"". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  8. ↑ Weissberg, Jay (February 1, 2017). "Rotterdam Film Review: 'Super Dark Times'". Variety. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  9. ↑ Alm, David (September 29, 2017). "'Super Dark Times' Tracks The Emergence Of A Teenage Psychopath". Forbes. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  10. ↑ Young, Neil (February 2, 2017). "'Super Dark Times': Film Review; Rotterdam 2017". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  11. ↑ McGovern, Joe (April 20, 2017). "Watch an exclusive clip from high school thriller Super Dark Times". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  12. ↑ Grobar, Matt (April 22, 2017). "'Super Dark Times' Stars & Director Kevin Phillips On An Act Of Violence That Changes Everything — Tribeca Studio". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  13. ↑ McGovern, Joe (August 2, 2017). "Super Dark Times: Check out a tense trailer for the new high school thriller". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Super Dark Times". January 4, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Super Dark Times (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Super Dark Times Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  17. ↑ Ehrlich, David (April 20, 2017). "Review: 'Super Dark Times' Is An Unnerving Cross Between 'Stand By Me' and 'Donnie Darko' — Tribeca 2017". IndieWire. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  18. ↑ O'Malley, Sheila (September 29, 2017). "Super Dark Times movie review". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on November 15, 2025. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  19. ↑ Gash, Lawrence (July 10, 2017). "'Super Dark Times' takes top prize at Neuchatel". Screen Daily. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  20. ↑ "2017 Winners". Music+Sound Awards. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  21. ↑ McNary, Dave (March 15, 2018). "'Black Panther,' 'Walking Dead' Rule Saturn Awards Nominations". Variety. Archived from the original on March 16, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  22. ↑ Nyren, Erin (March 3, 2018). "2018 Independent Spirit Awards: Winners List (Updating Live)". Variety. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
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