DARK CIRCLES is yet another grim slice of ghostly horror, made by schlock purveyors After Dark films. This is a cookie-cutter production that looks and feels like at least two dozen other similar haunted house movies made in the last five years. You know the story by now: a young couple (with a baby in tow) are living in a creepy, run-down old building, where the wife is assailed by horrible visions and nightmares. Is it all in her mind or is the house really haunted?

All of these films look grim with dull, washed-out colours and shadows lurking in every corner. The characters are subdued and depressed for the most part, and that transfers across to the viewer. The silly jump scares are too obvious to really work, and when it comes that twist ending is just dumb. I miss the old days of true ghost films like THE HAUNTING or THE INNOCENTS, with their strong writing and vivid characters...

Alex (Johnathon Schaech) and Penny (Pell James) move into their "Malibu Barbie Dreamhouse" with Tanner, their newborn. They are under stress as any new parents, plus there is construction going on nearby which makes daytime rest impossible. The film boasts a very good suspense and creep factor as a phantom woman (Lucresha Wells) appears to haunt them. Both of them have seen her and believe she doesn't exist. Their relationship becomes increasingly strained.

The acting and creep factor was done well. I really got into the film, but it seemed to go nowhere. You know everything seems to center around "the woman", but the film leaves you hanging about her until the very end, and then you say, "That's it?" The clues they give you don't allow you to piece things together. The climax doesn't do the rest of the film justice. A little more than a meh rental.

Parental Guide: No f-bombs, sex, or nudity.

"Dark Circles" was somewhat of a less than mediocre experience. And I mean that in the best possible way.

What made it less than mediocre was the slow storyline and the fact that nothing overly interesting happened at all through out the entire 87 minutes that the movie ran for.

That being said, then it should be noted that the actors were actually doing good enough jobs with their performances, they were just struggling against an uphill battle against a horrible script and a very anti-climatic storyline.

The story is about a family moving into a newly acquired house with their baby. But soon thereafter they realize that there is no rest, peace and quiet here, as the neighbors are constructing a house. And something inside their newly acquired house is not welcoming them with open arms.

The movie is nicely enough edited and filmed, just a shame that the storyline failed to be impressive.

As for a horror movie, then "Dark Circles" was awfully devoid of scary moments and anything even remotely disturbing. And this also contributed to the slow, dull pace that the movie trotted on in.