Darkness (2002) (Shout! Factory Exclusive)

[MifuneFan]

Shout! Factory will be releasing Darkness (2002) on Blu-ray as a site exclusive (limited to 1,800 copies). It'll include both theatrical, and the uncensored unrated cuts of the film.

https://shoutfactory.com/collections...ducts/darkness

Bonus Features for Blu-ray
Two Versions Of The Film, Including The Original Theatrical And Unrated Cuts
Audio (Both Cuts): DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround & 2.0 Stereo
“Darkness Illuminated” – Behind The Scenes Of Darkness
Theatrical Trailer

Description
UNCENSORED, UNRATED VERSION OF DARKNESS IN HI-DEF!

Anna Paquin (True Blood, The Piano) stars with Lena Olin (The Unbearable Lightness Of Being) and Iain Glen (Game Of Thrones) as a family whose life forever changes when they move into a new home with a long-buried mystery!

Not long after Regina (Paquin) begins living in her family's remote country estate, she learns that there's something horribly disturbing about the old place. Even as her parents dismiss her increasingly anxious concerns, strange things begin to happen whenever the lights go out. Regina soon realizes that the series of escalating supernatural events will unleash the unfettered evil that resides in their home.

[JupiterMission]

Huh. It seems like this would have fit their little-known "Scream Factory" line pretty well, but no, a limited site exclusive is much better.

I try not to be too negative on these forums, but expensive limited exclusives for films that other labels would have done solid, widely-available releases for is quite frustrating. It's a shame. Shout/Scream pulled me into the blu-ray collecting game, and I still pick up their titles semi-regularly, but they've fallen a lot in the last few years. I wish they would at least explain this strategy so I could see some reasoning for it. Otherwise it just feels like a money-grubbing slap in the face that's designed to reward scalpers over people who collect movies to watch them.

[Fangmacher]

don’t nobody want the Harvey Weinstein cut of this

[nekromantik]

i only seen this one. was rubbish lolis unrated cut much better or just standard hollywood unrated cuts with few seconds of extra blood?

[Vixen of the Night]

The unrated version appears to be the directors cut when you look at how drastically it was re-cut to get a PG-13 rating. Not just blood was missing, but all traces of the abuse the characters go through was toned down.

You may still not like the film. But the unrated is certainly better than the awful PG-13 edit.

[JoelGoodsen]

Originally Posted by JupiterMission

Huh. It seems like this would have fit their little-known "Scream Factory" line pretty well, but no, a limited site exclusive is much better.

I try not to be too negative on these forums, but expensive limited exclusives for films that other labels would have done solid, widely-available releases for is quite frustrating. It's a shame. Shout/Scream pulled me into the blu-ray collecting game, and I still pick up their titles semi-regularly, but they've fallen a lot in the last few years. I wish they would at least explain this strategy so I could see some reasoning for it. Otherwise it just feels like a money-grubbing slap in the face that's designed to reward scalpers over people who collect movies to watch them.

Unfortunately mate, you have already answered your own query.

[nekromantik]

Originally Posted by Vixen of the Night

The unrated version appears to be the directors cut when you look at how drastically it was re-cut to get a PG-13 rating. Not just blood was missing, but all traces of the abuse the characters go through was toned down.

You may still not like the film. But the unread is certainly better than the awful PG-13 edit.

thanks good to know

[ninfan81]

Originally Posted by Driver78

Is this the first time the Unrated cut has been released? If so, I may grab a copy. I know the Weinsteins loved to cut movies up.

Echo Bridge released both cuts, but separately

[schwano]

Another for the Dimension collection. $30, begrudgingly, spent.

[Vixen of the Night]

Originally Posted by nekromantik

thanks good to know

You're welcome.

Here's a comparison. The film is all about atmosphere, not blood n guts. But what little blood is in the film was removed from the PG-13 version along with many other cuts to tone things down like the shots of bruises the characters have, indicating abuse of some kind. So the PG-13 version makes even less sense in the end.

https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=773423

[Monterey Jack]

Dreadful movie.

[drownsoda]

I saw this movie a day or two after Christmas 2004 when Dimension (who famously released horror movies on Christmas Day) dropped it in theaters in the PG-13 rated cut. I was a freshman in high school at this time, and went with my brother and stepbrother. While I admit it is not a great film, I actually consider myself a fan mainly for the atmosphere, which is laid on thick. It's a very dark and strange movie, and has a personal nostalgia factor for me.

I own the Echo Bridge Blu-ray which is serviceable and includes the 102-minute longer cut, but getting this was no questions asked for me since it has both versions (I actually haven't seen the PG-13 Weinstein cut since I saw it in the theater; while I'm sure it's the lesser film, I'm curious to compare the two). I ordered it yesterday along with Fear City and was pleasantly surprised to see that both were shipped today.

[sec127]

Got my copy today. Looks and sounds great. The. Director’s cut is absolutely worth watching.

[sec127]

US Theatrical Cut/Weinstein Miramax Cut: 88 Mins
International Theatrical/Unrated Version/Director’s Cut: 102 mins

They are almost entirely different movies when you see the complete film compared to the Weinstein’s hacked PG-13 butcher’s job

[drownsoda]

Watched the unrated cut of this tonight (the only version I've ever seen on home video—never owned the truncated PG-13 cut on DVD). I think it looks great. I still love this film. There doesn't seem to be any indication on their site that a new scan was done for this release, so I wonder if this is a dupe of the Echo Bridge Blu-ray; I may have to pull that one out and compare.

As far as this being a limited website exclusive, I have to wonder if Scream Factory is taking this route as it makes for less financial risk on a title like this. While the film certainly fits perfectly well in their catalogue, I think it is one of those movies that has a small number of dedicated fans who would want to buy it, especially since it's been put out on Blu-ray in years prior. If they do limited small batches like this and sell them directly from their website, they are less likely to take a loss perhaps.

[vamatt99218]

I might get it for the unrated cut, although I've never seen the movie I'll watch for Anna Paquin.

[Cortiz]

Waiting on PQ review. I have the EB unrated and PQ is pretty good.

[Dragon78]

I saw this movie in theaters when it came out.....I don't remember much about it.

[GenPion]

I remember thinking this was one of the worst films I have ever seen. I can't recall if it was the theatrical or unrated version, though. Perhaps I should give the unrated cut a chance.

[rdodolak]

This release appears to use the same source as the EB release and has some of the same flaws. However, the SF release is presented in the proper 2.40:1 aspect ratio rather than the 2.42:1 aspect ratio of the EB release. Colors are also a bit different. Here are a few screenshots that match those from this site's EB review.

This release also flashes the Unlawful Entry title card briefly before the Darkness title card. The disc also lists the "Ninja III - The Domination" title since SF once again didn't update the bdmt_eng.xml meta file found on the disc.