Before getting to those redeeming qualities, however, let's delve into what holds this movie down. These weaknesses are its poor effects, its lackluster story telling, and its lack of true enchantment.
The movie's effects are too obviously effects. There's a good use of crows, certainly, but other effects look too plush to be realistic (the icicles of the movie's latter half in particular).
The movie also makes absurd usage of spinning cameras (to simulate 'stepping through time,' and, apparently, just for fun) and strangely fast cut-to's. An example of the latter is most scenes featuring the Rider (Christopher Eccleston). In these scenes the camera switches from him and to his horse almost every 10 seconds, and at varying angles. This sort of camera work is disorienting and could be simulating some sort of nausea caused by looking at the force of darkness embodied, but it's too distracting.
Not that there's necessarily much to get distracted from.
The story itself is standard young adult fantasy fare. There's a boy (Will Stanton, played by Alexander Ludwig) who supposedly has a hard time of it at school and at home (having five older brothers and a younger sister would do that to a guy). But no real struggle is shown beyond the sort of sibling interactions you could expect from any household even with three kids.
Nonetheless, Will turns out to be a mystic warrior in waiting. A group of beings from outside of time known as the Old Ones reveal this destiny to him shortly after his 14th birthday, telling him that he's the seeker of the six signs of light. Apparently, together, these signs are fragments of the power of light itself - which were hidden away after the light beat the dark the last time the two forces battled (around the 13 century, the movie nebulously implies).
Will finds these signs, fights the dark and, (spoilers!) triumphs in a final battle that sees the dark sealed away and light securely restored.
Certainly this film's plot is no match for another movie that came out in the same year about a boy and his school friends who band together to start a revolution and secret society against the rising power of an evil wizard in a modern, yet Gothic, setting.
Because of the emphasis on the six signs, unless you've played your share of fetch-quest-based video games and enjoyed doing so, you're not likely to really get into the story of Dark is Rising. Further, perhaps because of the generally unusual size of the family and the premise of Will being the 7th son of a 7th son, it's not so easy to relate to our boy protagonist or escape into his world.
Ultimately, what really made this movie flop (it remade $31,400,740 of its a $45,000,000 budget at the box office) was timing.
Coming out in the middle of the Harry Potter films' run ensured that Dark is Rising would be completely overshadowed. And the fact that the movie is based on a series of books from the 60s and 70s is odd as well (though the Golden Compass also took some time to be made into a film).
The unfortunate thing about this timing slip-up is that, had the movie been released around the time of the books' being published or when there wasn't already a major fantasy series on silver screens everywhere, I think that it would have done quite well.
It's true that the story on the whole is nothing special. But if you focus on the details of the story, there's more at work here than the usual sort of coming-of-age/marginalized-kid-empowerment stuff.
The Celtic elements from the books are highlighted rather than the Norse ones, and this is a great move on the part of the writers and directors. Celtic mythology is rich and interesting, but is too often overlooked since Greek and Roman myth have a more prominent place. So it's refreshing to see Celtic stuff get so much attention in a mainstream movie.
Even the film's fetch quest element is interesting since (even though it's something of a let down) one of the signs Will must collect represents the "essence of a human soul." The Essence of A Human Soul. That is some (potentially) deep, really cool stuff. Potentially.
The time travel elements to the plot and the powers that Will has are also pretty neat. But, the most prominent time traveler of the film isn't Will, or the Rider, but an adorable orange cat that Will and his sister Gwen (Emma Lockhart) rescue from a medieval battleground.
And though the movie's effects do have their failings, what they try to convey is really cool. Icicles are not Rising Sun Pictures' forte, but the plumes of shadow radiating from the Rider at various parts of the film are totally badass.
In fact, this movie makes it clear the Eccleston could be a contender for the role of Ganondorf if they ever make a Legend of Zelda Movie. Ian McShane (playing Merriman Lyon) could also fit the role nicely.
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Also, The movie's generous use of strobe lighting could definitely be dangerous, but it's a clear and simple way to show the light and the dark battling. Plus, it suggests an interpretation of what David Lynch might have been doing with the strobe effects in the Black Lodge in the last episode of Twin Peaks.
Overall, despite what the critics say, this movie flourishes in its details. In fact, I can say that this movie forgoes the Green Lantern Effect since I would watch it again and I'm interested in the checking out the books.
So, Freya, swoop in and save this one from the heaps of unholy dead. For, just as the pick-up line from Will Stanton himself used for this article's title suggests, this movie can do much more, and it does have powers - if it's only given the chance to use them.
If you want to share your opinion(s) of 'The Seeker: Dark is Rising,' please do so in the comments.
And remember, after the weekend the analysis of going to teacher's college based on my own feeling of "truthiness" will be posted - so keep reading!
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