Dark Fields (2009)

OK, I have stayed away from the horror genre way too much this week as I covered the NFL Draft for www.steelers101.com. Yes, I love football and the NFL, but 10 hours of coverage may have been way too much. Do not get me wrong, the Steelers had an amazing draft and interacting with fans is awesome, but the satisfaction is just not there in the same way that it is on here.  Fortunately, I had enough energy last night when it was done to find some horror to watch. My selection for the evening was 2009s Dark Fields (AKA The Rain).

Plot/ A farmer unearths an old top hat on his property and with it an ancient Indian curse that lays waste to all the farmers crops. All of the adults of the farming community are afflicted by a strange sickness that slowly dries them up until they are dust. It is only when the farmer communes with the hat does he find what it is that will save them all.

Let me start by saying this was not the best film I have seen lately, but there was something there that made it more interesting probably than it should be. As an anthology, it was definitely a different take and one that was possibly a bit too ambitious. There was a lot to like, the story was very heavy and eerie, the acting decent, some effects hit the spot and the scripting was solid. Yes, some of the effects were bad and the cinematography was all over the place, but that is somewhat expected from a low-budget flick of this nature. In the end, a decent horror anthology that is watchable. Now, I may not run out and buy it, but honestly, it could have been a lot worse.