Introduction
A cold finger of dread will run up your spine as you watch this tale of a Highlands murder investigation. It’s stylish, fun and chilling.
Gothic-lite Thriller Based on GR Halliday’s Novel
Gothic-lite may seem a contradiction in terms, but it aptly describes the new six-part thriller The Dark. Based on Scottish crime writer GR Halliday’s From the Shadows, the series opens with an unseen man carefully punching holes in leather straps, then striding across the Highlands carrying a naked man’s body, either unconscious or dead, over his shoulder. The arms swing like metronomes marking time that has already, as viewers quickly suspect, run out.
This suspicion is confirmed when the body is next seen via a drone shot, laid supine on the ground with arms pointing prayerfully above the head in a futile gesture. DI Monica Kennedy (Laura Donnelly) is called to investigate, and a cold, webby mass of intrigue begins to be spun. The setting alternates between gloaming and dreich weather, and with the icy finger of dread frequently running up and down the viewer’s spine, it serves as a perfect antidote to a heatwave.
Plot and Characters
Viewers are advised not to watch if they have sons or nephews they are fond of. The corpse is revealed to be 17-year-old Jason Morgan, the younger brother of a boy who went missing five years earlier. DI Kennedy had investigated that disappearance as well. There was gossip that Jason’s stepfather Barclay (Emun Elliott) killed the older boy, Nichol, as Kennedy tells her new partner Crawford (Mark Rowley); however, evidence suggested Nichol had run away. When they break the news of Jason’s death to his parents, the scene is handled with such sparseness that the awfulness is all the more profound. His mother, Bethany (Helen Baxendale), cuts an over-large piece of cake for Crawford while Barclay leaves to identify the body and accidentally drops the cake on the floor. The scale of domestic disaster she should be coping with is immense, yet everything is wrong.
As the investigation into Jason’s death intensifies, relying at times on intuitive leaps that contrast with the bleak and careful realism elsewhere, other characters come into focus. Rob (Aaron McVeigh), a young man of similar age to Jason, works as a waiter at the local hotel and one morning finds a burner phone taped to the handlebars of his beloved bike. His mother, who recently abandoned him and his father for reasons not yet revealed, texts him on the phone, apologizing and wanting to meet. Both the viewer and Rob wonder about the implications, but Rob simply smiles with relief.
Investigation and Suspects
DI Kennedy soon realizes she is on the trail of a serial killer. She and the audience must sift through clues such as swallowed stones, drugged teas, and animals killed and stuffed. These elements seem to connect some of the murders and suspected murders, while also presenting potential red herrings and a growing list of suspects. The first two episodes introduce several key figures: Nichol’s former social worker Michael (Tunji Kasim), who is now heavily medicated; Rob’s austere father (Cal Macaninch); Barclay, who remains a focus of village gossip; the shadowy local rabbit poacher Don (Phil McKee); and a local young man slightly older than the dead and missing boys. More characters are expected to move in and out of focus, maintaining audience interest until the anticipated bleak yet satisfying resolution over the remaining four episodes.
Character Depth and Style
Alongside the confident style that distinguishes The Dark from formulaic ITV dramas is the character of DI Monica Kennedy herself. The series offers a refreshing portrayal of a female detective who has her childcare arrangements sorted—a grandmother who does not suffer from early dementia, played by Stella Gonet—and a backstory that extends beyond the typical struggles of a working single mother or a dysfunctional marriage. Tantalizing hints of Kennedy’s past emerge through local residents who recall her pregnancy a few years ago with unusual interest, and through a woman intent on returning Kennedy’s child to the father. This subplot aligns with the gothic tone of the series and enriches rather than distracts from the main narrative.
Critique and Observations
There are some infelicities in The Dark. The intuitive leaps in the investigation occasionally jar with the otherwise bleak and realistic tone. Some actions seem unlikely, such as Kennedy picking up a particular bouquet of flowers at the hospital when instructed, instead of explaining they are not from her, which appears to serve narrative demands rather than character logic. Additionally, a very strange and overly dramatic role for a pathologist features lines like
“Dark as the darkest soul”delivered in a thick Eastern European accent before the character promptly exits, seemingly misplaced within the drama.
Conclusion
Despite these minor issues, The Dark offers great entertainment. Lean in and let it chill you to the bone.
The Dark aired on ITV1 and is available on ITVX.
