Darklands (film)

{{Infobox film

| name = Darklands

| image =

| caption =

| director = Julian Richards

| producer = {{ubl|Paul Brooks|Peter Edwards|Alan Martin|Clive Waldron}}

| writer = Julian Richards

| starring = {{ubl|Craig Fairbrass|Jon Finch|Rowena King}}

| music = {{ubl|David Hughes|John Murphy}}

| cinematography = Zoran Djordjevic

| editing = Mark Talbot-Butler

| distributor =

| released = {{Film date|1997|11|26|df=yes}}

| runtime = 85 minutes

| country = United Kingdom

| language = English

| budget = £500,000Alexander Walker, Icons in the Fire: The Rise and Fall of Practically Everyone in the British Film Industry 1984-2000, Orion Books, 2005 p274-275

| gross = £11,000

}}

Darklands is a British horror film written and directed by Julian Richards, starring Craig Fairbrass, Jon Finch, Rowena King, which was released in 1997.[https://web.archive.org/web/20121104134753/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/160018/Darklands/overview New York Times][http://www.totalfilm.com/reviews/cinema/darklands Total Film]

Richards wrote the screenplay after attending the Beltane Fire Festival in Edinburgh. It was produced by Paul Brooks at Metrodome Films.

Dubbed "the Welsh Wicker Man" by the UK press, Darklands is possibly the first home grown Welsh horror film.{{Cite web |url=http://www.britishhorrorfilms.co.uk/darklands.shtml |title=Britishhorrorfilms.co.uk |access-date=15 May 2011 |archive-date=19 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110319195734/http://www.britishhorrorfilms.co.uk/darklands.shtml |url-status=dead }} The film forms part of the growth of the Cool Cymru era of arts and culture.

Plot

Darklands follows journalist Frazer Truick as he investigates the mysterious death of the brother of trainee journalist Rachel Morris. Delving deeper, Truick becomes convinced that the tragedy was murder, committed by a bizarre religious cult. But as the evidence unfolds, things take on a more sinister and potentially lethal significance for the reporter, as he becomes embroiled in devil worship, witchcraft and ultimately human sacrifice.