Review of THAT BOY IN THE DARK: Physical and Psychological Plight

January 10, 2023

Young man Knight Daguiles (Joaquin Domagoso) slowly became blind while he was recovering from a bad vehicular accident that required brain surgery. At around the same time, his mother decided to abandon her family and never came back. Knight never forgave his father Anton (Ramon Cristopher) for not exerting enough effort to locate his mother, something that made them drift further apart emotionally.

When Anton had to leave for New York, he left Knight to live with his strict grandfather Carlos (Nanding Josef) and his loyal housekeeper Mamang Ched (Lotlot de Leon). The young man began hearing ghostly crying and screaming at night, which no one believed. One day, he went out of the house against his grandfather's wishes, he was able to speak with his childhood friend Ellie (Aneeza Gutierrez) which made him happy for a change. 

At a mere 1 hour and 4 minutes running time, "That Boy in the Dark" may not seem something worth the ticket price. However, this unassuming indie film was preceded by news of its numerous citations and awards received in film festivals all over the world. Director Adolfo Alix won Best Director at the International Manhattan Film Awards. More impressively, lead star Joaquin Domagoso won Best Actor awards in Toronto, Sweden and Venezuela. 

This was a major acting showcase for up-and-coming actor Joaquin Domagoso, portraying both physical disability (blindness) and psychological baggage (parental abandonment). Despite all the awards he won, Domagoso still has long road ahead to further hone his craft. Kiko Ipapo and Aneeza Gutierrez seem promising, but saddled with poorly-written characters. The veteran actors had cliched stock roles to do, so it felt like they were just dialing it in. 

Director Alix called his twisty film "modest" and that it was. The visual effects of the ghost scenes were quite rudimentary. It had to rely more on the lighting, editing, music and sound effects to create the creepy atmosphere, which were also hit and miss. Continuity of scenes tended to be careless, like when Anton tightly hugged Knight right where his son had major knife wounds, or when Anton's voice in one phone call was obviously not Ramon Cristopher's.

Knight's transition from nightmare to reality was so sudden, as a new character Danos (Kiko Ipapo) was suddenly introduced from out of the blue in the final act.  The alleged sins of Knight's family against Danos's mother was a major plot point, but was so quickly dismissed. The back story about Knight's mother could have been told in better detail as her sudden departure was an important contributor to Knight's disturbed state of mind. 4/10.