KSL Movie Show review: ‘Brave the Dark’ leaves you scarred along the way
Jan 23, 2025, 2:00 PM
"Brave the Dark" puts the audience through the wringer of a series of very disturbing events.
Editor’s note: This is an editorial piece. An editorial, like a news article, is based on fact but also shares opinions. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and are not associated with our newsroom.
SALT LAKE CITY — After watching this movie, I was reminded of a song from my youth — “A Family Affair” by Sly and the Family Stone. In it, the band alludes to a couple of brothers, one good, one bad, but both tied together by a mother’s love.
Indeed the two leads fit.
Heart-of-gold drama teacher Stan Deen (Jared Harris) has recently lost his dear mom, while troubled teen Nate (Nicholas Hamilton) has fond memories of his own sweet mother, but mostly in shadows of recollection.
On top of that, the Harris boys, sons of the late, great Irish actor, Richard Harris, are prominently featured in and around this real-life story. We’ve already mentioned Jared Harris as the lead. His brother Jamie Harris plays a parole officer and his oldest brother Damian Harris is the film’s director and co-writer.
Indeed, a family affair.
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Nate (Nicholas Hamilton) is a high-school loner in small town, Pennsylvania. He seems to rage against the world and everybody in it.
What’s up with this kid? We’ll get snippets of a troubled family dynamic, but the big enchilada will be saved for the end and it’s a doozy.
In fact, while it creates an element of surprise narratively speaking, it is so impactful that knowing it earlier would have changed the tone of the entire movie. Not being aware feels a bit cruel and manipulative.
Anyway, Mr. Deen notices Nate kicking at a campus vending machine. He immediately assumes the boy must be hungry, so he slips him a giant chocolate bar, which Nate devours.
Later that night, Nate and a couple of buddies break into an electronics store and the lady across the street sees them. Nate is arrested, but won’t rat out his pals.
He is sent to live with his rotten grandparents again — like Salem’s Lot kind of rotten. But Mr. Deen to the rescue.
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Okay, I get that this is set in 1986. But an unmarried, childless high school teacher is not going to be given custody of a troubled teenage boy — I don’t care what year it is — without some thought of, “Are we sure this is a good idea?”
Nevertheless, it happened.
Yet, the kid is still a jerk, while Mr. Deen bends over backward to coddle Nate every step of the way. He puts up with his bad behavior, while bad boy Nate seems determined to be completely ungrateful. As a result, Deen has run out of cheeks to turn.
Is there an arc? Of course. There’s an arc, but not before we, the audience, are wrung through the wringer of a series of very disturbing events that put everything in a different light.
I get that this is eventually an inspiring story of good overcoming evil. But does the evil have to be so heinous, as to leave one scarred in the process? I think not.
“Brave the Dark” (C) Rated PG-13 for domestic violence/bloody images, suicide, some strong language, teen drinking, drug material and smoking. Starring Nicholas Hamilton, Jared Harris, Jamie Harris, Sasha Bhasin and Kimberly S. Fairbanks. Co-written and directed by Damian Harris (“Gardens of the Night” “The Rachel Papers”) Filmed in Lancaster County, PA and the actual home in which Mr. Deen and Nate lived. Running time: 112 minutes.
The KSL Movie Show with Andy Farnsworth and Steve Salles airs Fridays on KSL NewsRadio from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Follow the show on Facebook, and join The KSL Movie Show Club for exclusive perks by texting MOVIE to 57500. Message and data rates may apply. Text STOP to cancel. Message frequency varies.
