Dark Places

Based on a novel by Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl), director Gilles Paquet-Brenner's thriller is a tasteless mash-up of In Cold Blood and the 1993 Robin Hood Hills murders (covered in the Paradise Lost documentary trilogy), along with scraps of other grotesque true-crime stories and plenty of lurid imagination. The narrative centers on Libby Day (Charlize Theron), who as an 8-year-old child survived the murder of her mother and two older sisters in their Kansas farmhouse. On the basis of Libby's testimony, her 15-year-old brother was convicted of the killings and sentenced to life in prison. Thirty years later, Libby is approached by a slightly creepy true-crime buff (Nicholas Hoult) to collaborate with his so-called Kill Club to re-open the case, and being desperate for money she agrees. Paquet-Brenner juxtaposes contemporary scenes with gritty, black-and-white flashbacks of the killings and other sequences depicting Libby's mother's struggles to keep the farm safe from both foreclosure and the depredations of her ne'er-do-well husband, as well as her brother's dalliance with a rich girlfriend, and his involvement in a Satan worshipping-cult with hints of child abuse. All the murky circumstances swirling around the night in question come together in the kind of off-the-wall denouement that might work on the printed page but comes across as hilariously implausible on screen. Author Flynn and star Theron ensure that there will be interest in this sensationalist potboiler, but the goofy plot twists and laughable motivations will likely induce snickers. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “Bringing Dark Places to Light” production featurette (23 min.), an “About the Author” segment on novelist Gillian Flynn (9 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing adaptation.] (F. Swietek)