This is an odd one. The sound design is deeply imbalanced; not just whispers but a fair bit of ordinary dialogue is squelched down and nearly inaudible, while the atmospheric score, music cues, and sounds ring through loud and clear. Every aspect of the writing feels disordered, haphazard, and possibly outright contrived from the start; the premise is promising at a basic level, but the movie can't claim an auspicious beginning. Worse, in a small runtime of only 75 minutes, as we're more than halfway through the situation doesn't seem to have improved. At the same time, any oddities that are supposed to inspire fright, or even just an indescribable unease, instead only come off largely as unfortunate happenstance, or a reflection of the chief three characters struggling to cope with the changes in their lives that are slowly pieced together for the audience as the digital timer progresses. That last bit turns out to be the important one, sure, yet for much of the picture the pieces don't fully come together. There are good ideas here, but I'm unsure if 'Dark beacon' is the best realization of them.
The flashback scenes ultimately feel unnecessary, mostly just serving to pad out the length. The feature can claim very strong airs of psychological horror, a rather tight and swift go at the genre. However, the execution thereof doesn't feel altogether complete, as though it doesn't explore deeply or widely enough. With that, as the full impact of these notions come to bear - crystalizing only within about the last 15 minutes or so - it's as though the film is a jigsaw puzzle in which one or two random pieces are missing. In concept this is fantastic; in the details of how it is put together, the result leaves a bit to be desired.
The chief filming location is gorgeous, and a superb setting for this story. It's well made from a technical standpoint, with excellent cinematography, editing, direction, and use of lighting. The cast give great, meaningful, spirited performances - April Pearson, Lynne Anne Rodgers, and even young newcomer Kendra Mei (here making her debut). I do quite like the music, and scenes are orchestrated well as they are. So why do I still somehow feel like something's missing? 'Dark beacon' aims high, and goes far, but just can't quite achieve its goal. I appreciate what director Coz Greenop, and co-writer Lee Apsey, have concocted, and I hope to see more from them in the future as they hone their capabilities. I do like 'Dark beacon,' but I just wish I liked it more than I do - it's decent; it could've been great.
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