Super Dark Times [2017]
“All you f***ing do is say a bunch of s**t that you think sounds nice because you're scared all the time.”
Super Dark Times is the directorial debut of Kevin Phillips, and the second film written by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski. Phillips has done no films since, and that is criminal. Collins and Piotrowski have written 2020’s The Night House, directed by David Bruckner [2017’s The Ritual]. This puts Super Dark Times into a very interesting confluence of writers and directors who are all budding at the same time, and making some truly incredible [if flawed] pieces of film.
I’ll start this strong by saying that I cannot wait for more from everyone involved with this project.
In Super Dark Times we follow Zach, Josh, Daryl, and Charlie as they manage the struggles of girls, absent parents, school, and everything else teenage boys navigate. When a regular afternoon’s shenanigans go awry however, everything changes… and none of it for the better.
Described as a “coming of age nightmare” by Paste, Super Dark Times reminds me very much of 2017’s Good Time with a few The Clovehitch Killer vibes from 2018. The production and performances of this film are astounding. The score is excellent, and the subject matter is approached with a tension and tact that many films miss. This tension and tact, however, are where the film potentially falls from “super dark” times to “slightly mishandled” times, depending on how you view the events of the film.
Super Dark is a film with an obvious, face-value narrative. Viewed as such, I’d give this film something more like a 7.3 because of the neat-and-tidy bow it slaps on as an ending. However, it is also [theoretically] a film with a much, much, deeper [and darker] subtext that is told through sparse imagery, subtle dialogue, and easy to miss cues. Viewed this way, I give the film a 9.6. So, I've rated it somewhere between these as an example of how I felt on my initial interpretation because, the problem with this "deeper" concept is, as I notated above, it’s only theoretical. Similar to 2020’s Hunter Hunter, 2017’s The Killing of a Sacred Deer, or 2019’s The Lighthouse and Swallow; Super Dark Times shows you one thing, but tells you another. It’s what I would call a “weird” movie.
This is going to get a little spoilery for a couple of the above mentioned movies, but not Super Dark Times itself.
Don’t get me wrong, I love all of those movies mentioned. “Weird” is not a censure, simply a category. The two I want to focus on the most here are Swallow and Hunter Hunter. Swallow is a movie about a pregnant woman who develops pica and runs away from home to satisfy her cravings… or is it? Hunter Hunter is a movie about a reclusive family who’s forested homestead comes under attack by a serial killer and they have to use their survival skills to, well, survive… or is it?
Swallow shows you the narrative about a pregnant woman, but is actually about the much deeper issues that women face every-day in a society that often views them as objects. It’s a movie about this beautiful, capable, and aspirant person who has all of her power taken away by those viewed as “successful” by a world that cares little for the individual. She’s a set-piece, not a human being. The entire film is about the way people [women in particular] are beat down by “the system” to function in these autonomous roles in order to continue feeding that nameless entity and make sure the wheels turn. In the end, she takes her power back in various ways and the final scene of the film is powerful, intelligent, and lonely. As we watch the bathroom which she has just exited, we do not follow, we simply wait and watch as everyone’s lives continue on in her wake. Her decision was momentous, meaningful, and empowering for her – forever changing the way she lives. For these strangers, who’s myriad opinions and doings she’d had SO MUCH concern for in her previous life/ dealings, it’s nothing more than the flush of a toilet. They don’t even notice. They don’t know her, she doesn’t know them, and, as the credits roll, neither do we anymore. I didn’t mean for this review to turn into a plug for Swallow, but that film is a modern masterpiece. It’s face-value message is clear and strange enough, but its subtext is ripe and powerful if you’re willing to look below the surface.
Hunter Hunter follows a similar pattern, but with way more tenuous links between what is shown, and what is meant. In Hunter, we are fed a story that really doesn’t make much sense and feels more like a series of loosely connected [and mostly trite] plot points all designed to set up a shock-jock style ending. That ending is very well done and the prop work is exceptional. However, making the audience sit through 75-minutes of film just to gross them out is… pretty unacceptable without some serious substance. Within that runtime though, there are several clues and hints that could point the audience in a different direction. Some things just don’t add up, some make no sense at all, and some just feel like throwaway lines to get to the next piece. However, if we break those down we can begin to paint a picture that maybe the antagonist isn’t so unknown or quite so random as the film presents. Maybe our lost protagonist was actually in on it the entire time… This is where Hunter isn’t as strong as either Swallow or [what I promise to get back to soon] Super Dark Times. Hunter Hunter’s links are SO tenuous that you have to perform some serious leaps in logic to make them work – lots of “what ifs” and “that-could-be trues”. Assuming you make those leaps and connections though, Hunter Hunter is a fantastic, slow-burn, killer-in-the-woods type movie that is way creepier than it initially presents. Without making those connections… it’s just OK at best. Here is a link to my Reddit discussion of my theory.
Super Dark falls right in between these pieces. Its face-value story is excellently told and very well presented for ¾ of the film, only falling prey to the “it’s gotta end somehow” shrug that writers so often turn to, in the last 10-minutes of its runtime. Like the above mentioned films though, it has a subtext that is very compelling. That hidden agenda isn’t anywhere near as tenuous as Hunter’s, and I think it’s a little more interesting [if the pieces fit together] as well. It also isn’t nearly as complex or weighty as Swallow’s, and is certainly more “what ify”. Its basic presentation is vastly superior to Hunter’s and on par with Swallow’s, but the end will throw audiences just looking for the “what it shows you” movie where both Swallow’s and Hunter’s are at least encapsulated well within the bounds of the rest of the film.
These are a lot of strange and abstract comparisons because I don’t want to give anything away about what the “true” nature of Super Dark Times is. I want you to be aware of it to better figure it out on your own, but I also want you to experience it as nakedly as you can.
Super Dark Times is the kids-on-bikes film that you’ve never heard of, and absolutely need to watch if you like serious thrillers. While its ending may not be for everyone, this is the very rare film that truly encourages a second watch to catch the subtle nods that make it all come together… and foreshadow it all happening again.
“You’re just full of surprises…”
