“The Dark End of the Street” Film Review
By: Joseph Perry (Twitter)
Writer/director Kevin Tran makes an impressive feature film debut with The Dark End of the Street, an ensemble cast character study revolving around the mysterious killings of pets in a suburban American neighborhood. Neighbors who are mostly strangers other than occasional “Hi/Bye” interactions — if that — are thrust into becoming suspicious, supportive, or otherwise dealing with the incidents that shock their sheltered area.
From nosy neighbors to skateboarding teens in a punk rock band, to suddenly terrified pet owners and parents-to-be, and beyond, The Dark End of the Street is chock full of diverse characters with wide-ranging outlooks on everything from who the perpetrator behind the pet killings might be to how much the internet alienates people from social interactions. Despite the wide range of ideas, Tran keeps things grounded and engaging, thanks in great part to believable dialogue, and surprising turns from some of the characters.
Tran keeps the focus on the characters rather than the pet attacks. Some residents grow ever more suspicious and paranoid about those who live near them, while others find themselves in more tender moments, and still others occupy a wide range in between. Cast standouts include Brooke Bloom as Marney, who comes home to find her cat dead, and Anthony Chisholm as Ian, a widower who keeps a watchful eye on things.
The independent microbudget drama The Dark End of the Street accomplishes much in its 69-minute running time. Viewers looking for something offbeat but engrossing should find much to like here.
The Dark End of the Street, from Gravitas Ventures, debuts on VOD on August 11.
Joseph Perry is one of the hosts of When It Was Cool’s exclusive Uphill Both Ways podcast (whenitwascool.com/up-hill-both-ways-podcast/) and Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast (decadesofhorror.com/category/classicera/). He also writes for the film websites Diabolique Magazine (diaboliquemagazine.com), Gruesome Magazine (gruesomemagazine.com), The Scariest Things (scariesthings.com), Ghastly Grinning (ghastlygrinning.com), and Horror Fuel (horrorfuel.com), and film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope (videoscopemag.com) and Drive-In Asylum (etsy.com/shop/GroovyDoom).
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