Writers: John Hodge (screenplay) Susan Cooper (novel)
Director: David L. Cunningham
Cast: Alexander Ludwig, Christopher Eccleston, Ian McShane, Frances Conroy, James Cosmo, Jim Piddock, Amelia Warner, John Benjamin Hickey, Wendy Crewson, Emma Lockhart
Rating: PG
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: March 18, 2008
The popular book series, The Dark Is Rising was written by Susan Cooper and John Hodge had the chance to adapt one of the books in the series into The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising. What I’ve heard of this translation is that it was so ‘bastardized’, the only thing that seems to be taken from Cooper’s series is the names of the characters. Having not read them, I cannot say whether this is true or not. I can only judge the merits of the movie on what I saw of it.
I had some hope for The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising. The trailer made the movie look pretty cool and I’ve been a fan of Ian McShayne since his Lovejoy days. I guess that gives away my age a little bit, but that is neither here nor there. I feel like Randy Jackson does, on American Idol, when he is telling most of the contestants what he thinks about their performance. If asked what I thought about The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising, I might just have to steal Randy’s catchphrase of, “I don’t know, dawg. I didn’t really get it. It was just ok for me.”
Release Information:
The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising was released in movie theaters across the United States on October 7, 2008. Playing in over 3,000 theaters, the movie did terrible in its opening weekend grossing only $3 million. It has made close to $30 million total, worldwide since its original debut.
On March 18, 2008, 20th Century Fox released The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising on both standard DVD and Blu Ray. The copy I received for review was a standard DVD edition screener copy. It had one of the poorest qualities for a screener that I’ve ever received. I can only hope that the final quality is better than what I received. The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising is available in its standard edition for $19.99 USD.
The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising Plot
The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising, in its movie form, tells the story of Will Stanton (Alexander Ludwig), the seventh son of a seventh son. The Stanton family has moved to England, where their physicist father, John (John Benjamin Hickey), has a new job at a university. Will is the youngest boy in the family and he’s quite close to his little sister, Gwen (Emma Lockhart). His brothers (that he knows of) are James (Drew Tyler Bell), Max (Gregory Smith), Stephen (Jordan J. Dale) and twins Robin (Edmund Entin) and Paul (Gary Entin).
Will soon learns that the forces of darkness are coming to try and take over the world. He is the Seeker, the only one who can save the world. The Old Ones, a group of ancient, immortal-like individuals, tell him of his mission, to find the six signs that only he can find, to defeat the darkness. At first, he feels they must be mistaken. The Seeker is the seventh son of a seventh son and Will is only the sixth or at least so he thinks. Upon finding a box in the attic labeled Tom and Will, he asks his mother, Mary (Wendy Crewson), who Tom is. He soon learns he had an older, twin brother, Tom. Tom was kidnapped when they were just babies.
The Old Ones are led by Merriman Lyon (McShane) and Miss Greythorne (Frances Conroy). The two try to guide Will through finding the signs and protecting him from the darkness, led by The Rider (Christopher Eccleston). Other Old Ones include Dawson (James Cosmo) and Old George (Jim Piddock). There is also the older girl, Maggie (Amelia Warner) who Will has a crush on and she says she’s there to protect him.
The acting was great and is the only reason I bothered watching The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising all the way through. McShane is excellent as the somewhat harsh role model for the Seeker. He’s too funny as he ‘plays’ the role of Conroy’s character’s butler. It’s all a ruse, of course, but he seems to have fun with it. Ludwig is believable as the Seeker and all the young folks who act in the movie do well in their respective roles. My real problem is with the story and the plot. It is somewhat dull. It’s not as exciting as I’d imagined it’d be and it’s all a bit too gloomy and depressing.
As amazing as it was to watch McShane and Conroy, who put in the best performances of the movie, along with Eccleston, the movie was a bit too manic yet predictable for my tastes. While my 13 year old son seemed to enjoy the movie, I tried to get into it and just couldn’t. If you’re buying this for a kid between the ages of 7-13 you might find they enjoy The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising, but just in case, I recommend watching it first. Fans of the book series, especially, should be prepared to be disappointed.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
I cannot accurately tell you what the audio or video quality is for The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising. I received a screener copy. The audio was only affected once or twice, but the visual quality was terrible, with screener watermarks appearing consistently and the colors changing from black and white to color. You shouldn’t purchase the movie based on my assessment of this, since my copy wasn’t of the final product.
Bonus Features:
The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising has absolutely no bonuses. At first, I thought it was just the fact that Fox sent a screener copy, but usually, my screener copies have the bonuses included anyway. After checking it out on the press release I received for the movie, I realized there were no bonuses whatsoever. That may be good or bad for you depending on if you liked the movie or not.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising was just okay. I managed to get through it, but I doubt I would want to watch it time and again. While this may be good for your preteen/tween, I wouldn’t recommend this one without at least checking it out from blockbuster first. Buy with caution.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: The Seeker, The Dark Is Rising, Alexander Ludwig, Christopher Eccleston, Ian McShane, Frances Conroy, DVD Review
Written by Dominick Evans – Visit Website
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Dominick is in his late 20s. He lives in Michigan with his life partner, Ashtyn, their 14 year old son Robert, and their Shih-Tzu, Oliver. Dominick is a writer and the head editor for both LI Kids and Literary Illusions. He enjoys composing music and is an aspiring director/screenwriter. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family, playing and watching sports, playing video games, watching movies, and singing.
