Anna Paquin in Darkness

My fellow True Blood friends, soon our favourite show will be off season again, and with the withdrawal we’ll have to look for new ways to spend our time. Searching in my trunk of memories,  I found a little piece of  meat to help you kill time until spring is here again.

Last week I was dining with a friend, a stranger of True Blood land, after explaining to him of my obsession with True Blood, he amused me with a strange anecdote. He had met Anna Paquin. I was surprised to hear his story, that traced back to 2002.  He had been in the producing team of  “Darkness”, a terror thriller directed by Jaume Balagueró, a catalan cult director that I’ve known quite well since I was 15 years old -a long time ago- when he was collaborating in a local Barcelona radio station that I used to enjoy.

Anna worked in Barcelona?? And you met her?? What is she like? Those were my first questions. -”She was wonderful”- Not that I was surprised to hear that, but you always like to reinforce suspicions in first person. I was told that she was such a sweet and kind girl, and everyone on set found it interesting that she would do her own makeup. Everyone loved her.

I’m not into horror movies, all my life I’ve found only the classics to be of any interest, such as The Exorcist and The Shining. But this was a night to watch Anna, so I invited my friend to play the movie at my home, which he  kindly accepted after picking up the dvd.  Lights off, popcorn on the table, soon I was ready to discover Anna in a flashback.

“Darkness” is based on the premise of the classic horror movie. A haunted house. Dead children. A prophecy. Something really evil that reaches it’s highest point when it is dark.

Things will get worse for Regina - Anna Paquin

Anna is Regina, the young and melancholy daugther of an American couple that just moved into a creepy old mansion on the outskirts of Barcelona, Spain.  Regina feels uncomfortable in her new home, so she has decided to go back to study in the U.S. Being the only one brave enough to search for answers, she must first discover what’s been unleashed in the house. Regina will fight to protect her younger brother who is constantly being attacked by supernatural forces. She must deal with her parents disbelief and her mother’s (Lena Olin) passivity. Bruises on my child’s face?? “Don’t worry, that’s normal!”

The best thing about the film are the photography and the dark ambience and this is reflected in the scenes throughout the movie. But what saves the movie above all,  is definitely Anna’s interpretation – and I’m being unpartial here. The film,  even though you may find it entertaining, is nothing to take with you to the grave.

I was amused to discover a beautiful and young Anna, and sometimes could recognize some  Sookie winks in her role; especially in the way she expresses tension in the use of her hands, reinforcing the sense of immanent danger. I just love that. Simply delicious.

Director:
Jaume Balaguero (The Nameless)

Cast:
Anna Paquin (Regina)
Lena Olin (Maria)
Iain Glen (Marco)
Giancarlo Giannini (Albert Rua)
Fele Martinez (Carlos)
Fermi Reixach (Villalobos)
Stephan Enquist (Paul)

SYNOPSIS:

There’s something in this house…Something ancient and dark that remains still, hidden and silent. It can only wait, having been concealed in the shadows for years. In fact, its milieu is darkness. Only in it can it show itself and move. It even takes its name: DARKNESS.

It’s lived here since someone tried to call it, more than forty years ago. Because this house hides a secret, a terrible past, an inconceivably evil act….Seven children, faceless people, a circle that must be completed.

And blood, lots of blood…..

But something went wrong. One of the children got away. The circle wasn’t completed. That’s why what lives here isn’t finished. It’s just waiting…It tries to carry out what it couldn’t before, making plans in the shadows, to become complete, to be, to exist….

A new family has just moved into the house. A small child. An unstable father capable of losing his temper at any time. A perfect target. The right place at the right time. The pieces only have to be put in place. And then wait….

::amazona(“B00005JNBN”)::

Posted in Anna Paquin, Once Upon a time, Other Projects