DISPIRITING

REVIEWED - THE DARK: ANY punter stumbling into The Dark under the impression that it might be an adaptation of the novel by the recently deceased John McGahern will become aware of his or her error when, early on, the principals discover that their mobiles don't work.

Unsatisfactory phone coverage - bad enough that zombies can attack without fear of the authorities being summoned - is to the modern horror film what the gnarled peasant with his tales of ancient dread was to older adventures in terror.

Come to think of it, John Fawcett's passable Welsh ghost story, based on an admired book by Simon Maginn, does also feature such a pessimistically inclined ancient. When young Sarah (Sophie Stuckey) goes missing while strolling by the sea, her distraught mother (Maria Bello) consults the haggard handyman who has been restoring bits of the stereotypically haunted house inhabited by her estranged husband (Sean Bean). Dafydd (Maurice Roëves) explains that many years back the people of the windswept promontory became enthralled by the ravings of a preacher who encouraged them to fling themselves into the sea.

As the increasingly baffled mother investigates deeper, she uncovers information about trepanning and possessed sheep and hears tales concerning the Welsh version of the underworld. By the film's close, the confusion of myths and legends has become so overpowering that the story becomes close to unintelligible.

This is a shame. Fawcett, director of the superb Canadian werewolf drama Ginger Snaps, clearly has a great affection for extreme British cinema. Aficionados will spot references to The Wicker Man, Don't Look Now and Straw Dogs. But The Dark, though blessed with some fine moments, is far too muddled and compromised to be classed with those great films.