A wintery New York town becomes the setting for a strange occurrence related to the legend of “The Devil’s Footprints.” A sheriff struggling with loss and his deputy—played by Kevin Durand and Lukas Haas, respectively—look into unsettling events involving disappearing animals and deaths. The question is whether it's an unfamiliar predator, a supernatural being connected to Native American stories, or something else entirely. “Dark Was the Night” (2014) falls under the monster-in-the-woods horror/mystery category, but distinguishes itself from more typical scenarios. Like “The Hunting” (2021), it possesses an atmosphere of reverence and a deliberate pace reminiscent of films like “The Mothman Prophecies” (2002) and “Wendigo” (2001). It’s presented with a serious tone, so viewers shouldn't anticipate the kind of darkly humorous entertainment found in "The Wolf of Snow Hollow" (2020). Although these films share similar environments, it is the characters and the nature of the danger that set them apart. The filmmakers made a smart choice by only revealing brief glimpses of what’s causing the trouble, holding off on a full reveal until the end—which unfortunately turns out to be disappointing due to its reliance on computer-generated imagery. The final scene also feels somewhat silly. However, before that point, it's a suspenseful creature mystery with some genuinely frightening moments. One thing I feel compelled to bring up is the lack of attention given to the female characters—and I’m not referring to anything exploitative or suggestive. Essentially, the story focuses too heavily on male perspectives and could have benefited from a more significant female role to generate excitement or introduce new dynamics. “The Hunting” serves as a good illustration of what that might look like. The movie has a running time of 1 hour and 39 minutes and was filmed in Southampton, New York, which is located on the southeastern end of Long Island. GRADE: B-

Source on TMDB