The Dark Is Rising – The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (2007)

Directed by: David L. Cunningham | 94 minutes | action, drama, adventure, fantasy | Actors: Alexander Ludwig, Christopher Eccleston, Ian McShane, Jim Piddock, Gregory Smith, Amelia Warner, Emma Lockhart, Jonathan Jackson, John Benjamin Hickey, Stephen Evans, Gary Entin, Edmund Entin, Mark Donovan, Wendy Crewson, James Cosmo, Frances Conroy , Drew Tyler Bell

A director who wants to adapt a book, and certainly a fantasy book, must come from a good background and have a strong team behind him. Fans of fantasy novels keep a close eye on their beloved world being tampered with, and if, in their view, important elements are ignored or rendered differently in the final product, there is a good chance that the film will be poorly received by fans. From the first hour. Obvious examples of what it should be like in Peter Jackson’s trilogy ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and the Harry Potter films. Susan Cooper published in 1973 the second part in the series of five children’s novels that are together entitled The Dark Is Rising. The second book, also called The Dark Is Rising, is the basis of the film adaptation announced in 2005, a decision that was undoubtedly quickly cut after the financial reports of the aforementioned Harry Potter films and ‘The Chronicles of Narnia : The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ were announced.

Fans of the series couldn’t wait, but the disappointment turned out to be immense: almost nothing of the book was found in the film and the term ‘loosely based on’ took on a whole new meaning. When you have devoured the books of the British writer, seeing the film version is most likely a huge deception. The film ‘The Dark Is Rising’ ignores the legend of Arthur, who plays such a dominant role in the series. Instead, the film mainly focuses on Will Stanton, just fourteen here (instead of eleven in the book), who discovers his destiny. Will is a member of a large family that has just moved from America to the British countryside. The characters are neatly introduced at the beginning of the film, when the Christmas holidays start, and we see that Will does not feel at home in the family, where he is a bit of the pissing post. Only Gwen, his younger sister, pays attention to him. Soon inexplicable things start to happen around Will: the dogs growl, his birthday wish for snow comes true (while nothing pointed to it), and culminating in being plucked from a crowded warehouse for questioning by a bunch of security officers. When they know his name and their eyes turn black, Will knows nothing but to run. The explanation comes pretty quickly when one night Will comes face to face with a menacing rider on horseback, The Rider (Christopher Eccleston). This unsavory character, too, orders Will to give him ‘The Sign’, just like his creations in the department store did. Will is rescued by four villagers whom he met shortly before. They tell him that he is The Sign Seeker, has special powers (such as passing through time) and that he must restore the Light, because ‘the dark is rising’… A thousand years ago there was a battle, in which the Light on the narrowly triumphed so that the earth could be saved. The Dark was defeated but not destroyed. To protect the power of the light, it was divided and disguised into six characters, which were hidden.

Will has the noble task of locating these signs and has only five days to do so. Rather, only an hour, because the playing time of ‘The Dark Is Rising’ is a bit short for an adventure of this magnitude. This means that quite a lot is covered during two thirds of the film. It goes without saying that this does not benefit the plausibility. The signs Will has to look for are practically there for the taking, so there is hardly any tension. If half an hour of playtime would have been added, the film would probably have been a lot stronger. Now one action scene after another follows one another. These are again well put together, the special effects have not been cut back. The actors also do what they can with the screenplay and get a pass for their work. Lead actor Alexander Ludwig has a heavy burden on his young shoulders because he has to carry almost the entire film, but he succeeds in this. His Will is endearing, a bit of an underdog; the viewer can easily identify with him. ‘The Dark Is Rising’ cannot match the illustrious examples, but is without doubt an entertaining film in the fantasy genre. Susan Cooper followers will have to look for positive signs for them in the film, but (young) movie buffs unfamiliar with her work will have a lot of fun with this direct-to-DVD production.