A DARK FOE: In this Macabre Psychological Horror Film for Mature Audiences, Oscar Cardenas stars as Tony Cruz, an angry child/man (Everyman Archetype), FBI agent suspended for misconduct.
Tony has a fight to pick, and it’s with himself.
Tony experienced deep trauma as a child when his mother was killed and his sister was kidnapped by a brutal young man, (‘The Cradle’ hauntingly portrayed by Tokala Black Elk). Filled with dread and too young to fight back, Tony hides in the dark. Part of Tony has lived with the guilt and shame that have rendered him emotionally powerless and in the dark ever since.
His former partner (Bill Bellamy), along with Tony’s loyal childhood friend and Psychiatrist (Selma Blair), assist Tony to meet the challenges of his internal shadows and to accept a job working for a rich former prostitute to help her locate her sister who is presumed to be in the clutches of a psychopath, Tony recognizes the man as ‘The Cradle’ (now played by Graham Greene) and believes there is a chance his sister is still alive.
Tony seizes the opportunity to examine the demons and out-of-date beliefs that are holding him back.
Movies are magical creations. They have the power to expand our minds, allow us to contemplate and think for ourselves (not what to think), to heal, to laugh, to be entertained, and to engage as filmmakers in enterprise. Movies are a different form of Sports Entertainment. To go from reading and writing on a piece of paper to a visible creation on the screen it must jump through major hoops.
Is it a good title? Does the title reveal the all-important selling point – THE GENRE?
A Dark Foe is on the money. It immediately tells us we are going to encounter an ‘evil enemy’.
GENRE defines the audience. The director, Maria Gabriela Cardenas (making her directorial debut ), along with her father who she directs in A DARK FOE, has a production company called Path of Thorns Entertainment. There is no hiding the fact they aim to terrify.
One of the great things about films is their diversity. It is rare to find a film that satisfies everyone, and it certainly wouldn’t be a Macabre Horror Film.
If you advertise a film as a Rom-Com and it doesn’t have a cute meet and greet, you have lied to your audience and taken their money under false pretenses. Same with Macabre Horror. If it doesn’t have a grim or ghastly atmosphere that is particularly gruesome in nature. is designed to frighten, including elements of death, blood (the essential elixir), disfigurement, panic dread, intrusion of evil forces, torture, gore, the grisly and the grotesque, you are not going to satisfy your audience.
A Dark Foe supplies all the above, plus it’s captivating, entertaining, and provides the all-important cathartic experience.
The plot is not a straightforward run to the finish line. It spins in several new directions that are believable but still revolve around the one central conflict. It maintains the genre and an underlying theme.
I don’t want to give away any of the suspense, but Tony does muster the courage to become the warrior, fight the terrifying Beast, face The Truth, and experience that crucial pivotal moment where the world opens up and he can start his life anew.
The Truth of course is Rebecca, who represents the Goddess Veritas who can only love the warrior, played with aplomb by Kenzie Dalton.
As a Directional Debut film, Maria Gabriela Cardenas lays her cards on the table. Her intentions are clear.
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