Dark Places

"In 1985, her entire family was murdered. 30 years later, the truth emerges."

2015 1h 53m EN

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 1,399

ThrillerMysteryDramaCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A woman who survived the brutal killing of her family as a child is forced to confront the events of that day.

“In 1985, her entire family was murdered. 30 years later, the truth emerges.”

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Cast

Charlize Theron
Libby Day
Nicholas Hoult
Lyle Wirth
Chloë Grace Moretz
Young Diondra Wertzner
Christina Hendricks
Patty Day
Tye Sheridan
Young Ben Day
Corey Stoll
Ben Day
Andrea Roth
Diondra Wertzner
Sterling Jerins
Young Libby Day

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Gilles Paquet-Brenner
Writers: Gilles Paquet-Brenner
Languages: English
Countries: France, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 25% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 11 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: France, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner, shot by Barry Ackroyd. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Gregory Tripi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Douglas Crise shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult and Chloë Grace Moretz carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "In 1985, her entire family was murdered. 30 years later, the truth emerges.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gilles Paquet-Brenner directs. Barry Ackroyd behind the camera. Gregory Tripi scores. Douglas Crise cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in France, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 25% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 11 years ago.
3International production across 3 countries: France, United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner, shot by Barry Ackroyd. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Gregory Tripi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Douglas Crise shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult and Chloë Grace Moretz carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "In 1985, her entire family was murdered. 30 years later, the truth emerges.".
9IMDB entry: tt2402101 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 13 themes, including "prison", "sibling relationship", "based on novel or book", "pregnancy".

The technical file

Cinematography: Barry Ackroyd
Original score: Gregory Tripi
Editing: Douglas Crise
Production design: Laurence Bennett
Costume design: April Napier
Makeup / hair: Jacenda Burkett
Stunt coordinator: Gregg Brazzel
Runtime: 113 min · 1h 53m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $20,000,000
Box office: $5,090,852
Return: 25% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Dark Places (2015)

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Gilles Paquet-Brenner

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-07-14
★ 7/10
When the truth and the consciousness of the world failed to work together. Based on the book of the same name, a story about a dreadful massacre in the rural America where a young girl lived to testify against her own brother and then she never recovered from it. So many years later, the case takes a new twist when some young crime solving enthusiastic shows interest in it and that's where the rest of the narration takes its direction. The suspense was the highlight, though, feels like not a complicated puzzle. Brilliant writing for sure. You know, from a novel to screen is not an easy task. Sometimes book fans and sometimes film fanatics will be disappointed, but this was a good film. In my opinion, it was an underrated film. Some people are disappointed, because mainly their anticipation was too high. It was the tall South African beauty, Charlize Theron's show. However the others came into the play when the narration was in the flashback. Since the film 'The Hunt', it is really scaring to see the little kids as the prime witness in a major trial. Because of their lack of the consciousness of the world, the truth struggles. This film was kind of similar, but only the final act resolves everything. Until then, as a viewer it is about trying to link all the possibilities. Surely a fine film for the one watch. 7/10
s6kx2025-05-28
★ 1/10
Negatives of the film, each of which deducts a star out of ten: - 1- Promoting smoking. 2- The director did not make the difference clear between scenes of the present and scenes of the past. 3- Weak dialogues. 4- Poor character introduction. 5- Comparing the Prophet Jesus, God forbid, to the devil. 6- Some stories were explained instead of being depicted. 7- Racism against Native Americans. 8- Promoting deviance. 9- The director did not clarify where Ben was when the police arrived. 10- Non-linear narration harmed the story more than it benefited it. Therefore, my rating for the film is 1 out of 10, which is the lowest possible rating. If I could rate the film 0 out of 10, I would have done so.