Dark Desire (2012)

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

I am not happy with the review that slags off Lifetime movies. I love Canadian film, it has a fresh perspective the actors are accomplished and you can always tell that it's Canadian opposed to American. I think it's a bit of an exaggeration to say that they only produce a film of this caliber every 3 to 4 years. Have you any idea how hard it is to compete in the World market I love Canadian film and I'm from the UK. I love all film that has tried and overcome. I mean if you want to talk boring films how about Chocolat snooze AI that's right up there in my top ten of awful films. Look at the budget in AI it wasn't Speilbergs nor was it Kubricks. It was so bloody boring, when David waits under the sea for 300 years or whatever it felt that long. So when you're badmouthing a limited budget Canadian film have a think about how hard they work and how much entertainment they bring for a fraction of the cost. I just think it's wrong to slag off a whole company who can't be that bad or they wouldn't still be producing films. Everyone is entitled to their opinion that's yours this is mine. Back to the film Dark Desire. It's entertaining and a lot sinister and very strange too. Great work guys keep it up.It is stylish lovely looking bad guy, always a plus and I won't spoil it watch it and see. It was on Channel 5 this afternoon 1st September 2015.

"Shane" (Nic Robuck) seems like a normal young man but under the surface he is a hot-tempered and mentally disturbed psychopath. As luck would have it, his new college roommate, "Brandon" (Brian Borello) makes the mistake of inviting him to his parent's house over a weekend. Once there, Shane takes the opportunity to embed himself deep into Brandon's family and like a malignant virus begins to spread destruction within it. Anyway, rather than spoil the film for those who haven't seen it, I will just say that for a film produced for "Lifetime" this one tested the boundaries just a bit when it came to a couple of passionate scenes. In that regard, I thought Kelly Lynch was terrific as the lonely and sexually starved housewife named "Caren". I also thought Nic Robuck did a pretty good job in his dark and volatile role as well. Now, while I would have preferred a format that was less restrictive this still turned out to be a slightly better than average movie in spite of it all.

We all know about Lifetime movies -or should I say Lifetime movie? These are variations on the same movie, which can admittedly take a (small) number of forms. Perhaps the most typical of these is the apparently ordinary but actually deranged individual who insinuates him- or herself into a family of innocents. Frequently the sicko will exploit an existing tension within the family for his/her own dastardly ends. Well, this is indeed what happens in this movie. But the similarity to a typical Lifetime movie pretty much ends there. This is no Anne Carlucci or Pierre David production. Nor is it directed by the ubiquitous, unimaginative, lifeless Douglas Jackson. Nor is the narrative punctuated with the characters' wholesome, sentimental, heartwarming chuckles. The film is directed with a sense of style, the actors are far above the level of mediocrity afflicting virtually all Lifetime actors, the camera work is relatively polished, the pacing and tempo never drag and the film is cut professionally. Armand Mastroianni is no star director, but he's way better than any of Lifetime's stable of inert "talents". What prevents Lifetime from turning out something like this more than every 3 or 4 years? A restricted budget? An obsession with low-budget Canadian dreck? Probably something along those lines. Lifetime would surely broaden its audience were it to look to put together more movies of this calibre. Make no mistake, Dark Desire is not a first-rate film. But it's got a polish and professionalism entirely lacking in just about every other of the network's products. It starkly underscores the low-rent, shallow and amateurish quality of most everything else Lifetime has tossed our way. It's time to put Carlucci and David out to pasture.

Kelly Lynch, who looks as good as she did in her "Drugstore Cowboy" days, plays a grieving mother who develops an unhealthy relationship with the best friend of her deceased son. But this being Lifetime, the twists keep coming. A palpable sense of dread and eroticism, strong performances by Lynch and the always solid Michael Nouri, and an expertly paced narrative, raise "Dark Desire" far above similar TV thrillers. This is hardly surprising, as the movie is directed by Armand Mastroianni. A much sought after TV director in recent years, Mastroianni directed some of the most stylish and intense independent horror movies of the early 80's.