That Boy in the Dark is a scary movie that was written by Gina Marissa Tagasa and directed by Adolfo Alix Jr. The movie is set to come out in the Philippines on January 8, 2023, but it hasn’t been given a rating yet. The main character of the movie is a blind man, and the movie looks at blindness, suspense, and fear. As a horror movie, you can expect the story to be exciting and scary as you watch it. Overall, That Boy in the Dark looks like it will be an interesting addition to the Philippines’ horror genre.
That Boy in the Dark Review
Knight Daguiles, played by Joaquin Domagoso, went blind slowly while he was recovering from brain surgery after a bad car accident. Around the same time, his mother decided to leave her family and never come back. Knight’s father Anton (Ramon Cristopher), who didn’t try hard enough to find Knight’s mother, was something he was never forgiven, and this caused the two of them to grow emotionally apart.
Anton had to go to New York, so he left Knight to live with his strict grandfather Carlos (Nanding Josef), and his loyal housekeeper Mamang Ched (Lotlot de Leon). No one believed the young man when he said he heard ghosts crying and yelling at night. One day, against his grandfather’s wishes, he left the house and was able to talk to his old friend Ellie (Aneeza Gutierrez), which made him happy for a change.
“That Boy in the Dark” only lasts 1 hour and 4 minutes, so it might not seem like it’s worth the price of a ticket. But this low-key independent film had already won a lot of praise and awards at film festivals all over the world before it came out. At the International Manhattan Film Awards, director Adolfo Alix won the award for Best Director. Joaquin Domagoso, who played the lead role, won “Best Actor” awards in Toronto, Sweden, and Venezuela.
This was a big break for up-and-coming actor Joaquin Domagoso, who played both a blind man and a man with a lot of emotional baggage (parental abandonment). Domagoso has won a lot of awards, but he still has a long way to go to get better at what he does. Both Kiko Ipapo and Aneeza Gutierrez seem to have potential, but their characters are poorly written. It seemed like the veteran actors were just dialing it in because they were given stock roles that were too predictable.
Alix, the film’s director, called it “modest,” and that’s what it was. The ghost scenes didn’t have much in the way of special effects. It had to rely more on lighting, editing, music, and sound effects, which were also hit or miss, to create a creepy atmosphere. Scenes didn’t always fit together well. For example, Anton hugged Knight tightly right where his son had major knife wounds, and Anton’s voice in one phone call was clearly not Ramon Christopher’s.
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Knight’s dream turned into reality so quickly that a new character named Danos (played by Kiko Ipapo) appeared out of nowhere in the last act. The supposed wrongs that Knight’s family did to Danos’s mother were a big part of the plot, but they were quickly brushed aside. The story of Knight’s mother’s past could have been told in more detail since her sudden departure was a big part of why Knight was so upset. 4/10.
Final Words
That Boy in the Dark is a horror movie set in the Philippines that looks at blindness, suspense, and fear. Joaquin Domagoso won Best Actor awards in Toronto, Sweden, and Venezuela. The film’s director called it “modest” and lacked special effects, making it difficult to create a creepy atmosphere.
