‘Dark Cloud’ VOD Review
Stars: Alexys Gabriell, Chloe Atack, Hugo Armstrong, Anna Stranz, Amanda Day, Justen Jones | Written by John J. Kaiser | Directed by Jay Ness
Following the aftermath of a horrific accident, Chloe (Alexys Gabrielle) voluntarily submits herself to experimental treatment to both help her recover her lost memories and recover emotionally from the accident. The treatment is progressive – for Chloe must spend time in a house packed with the latest in artificial intelligence, Artificially Intelligent Domestic Assistant or AIDA for short (voiced by Emily Atack); a home automation system that acts as an AI nurse, tracking and caring for Chloe through every stage of her rehabilitation.
But then this film is called Dark Cloud isn’t it? Which can only mean one thing. Something is going to go wrong with Chloe’s treatment. Right? Right. After all, AI has been the source of all things evil since Stanley Kubrick’s 2001. Speaking of which, 2001’s HAL feels very much like the inspiration for AIDA. From the simple appearance to the way in which AIDA behaviour changes – overbearing, and controlling of Chloe. So much so I was waiting for AIDA to spout a riff on the classic “I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
And that’s the thing with Dark Cloud. It doesn’t feel original. It doesn’t even feel like it has something interesting to say about the human/AI story; it’s all very much by the numbers. Which is a shame as the film at least looks interesting – it’s all shot in a very sterile and detached manner, which reflects the manner in which AIDA behaves and the relationship between AIDA and Chloe. Which is the most interesting part of the film.
The rest of Dark Cloud is very much predictable and cliched. And whilst Alexys Gabrielle gives a great performance as the troubled Chloe, especially as AIDA separates her more and more from those she loves and trusts. There’s also an underlying question as to whether AIDA is the problem or Chloe’s mental state is, with the most interesting point of the film completely blurring the lines between what’s real and what’s not – is AIDA controlling Chloe or is Chloe somehow becoming AIDA? In so much that AIDA is becoming her inner voice, allowing Chloe to compartmentalise her breakdown and act irrationally…
That one sequence in Dark Cloud is the high point of the film, which seemingly immediately goes back to the humans versus AI story that we’ve seen a myriad of times before. On that descends into violence as per usual with these kinds of films, with AIDA even rehashing the old “humans are such fragile creatures” spiel we’ve heard before… It’s all disappointingly cliched. The good thing about Dark Cloud outside of Alexys Gabrielle’s performance? It doesn’t stick around long enough for audiences to truly hate it.
*½ 1.5/5
Dark Cloud is out now on demand and on digital.
