Reviewed By: Jay Reel

Directed by: David L. Cunningham

Released by: 20 Century Fox

3 out of 5 Skulls

Will Stanton (Alexander Ludwig) is an American boy, living with his parents in England. He’s on Christmas vacation, and has just turned 14, so he’s dealing with the changes that all boys of that age goes through, such as discovering girls. He’s also just learned, by the forces of the “light” that he’s a “Seeker”. As a Seeker, he must find the six signs that will enable him to defeat the evil forces of the dark before blackness envelops the earth for all eternity. He will gain powers on his journey, such as extraordinary strength and the ability to travel through time, but the keeper of the dark is very powerful and determined to destroy The Seeker. The fate of the world rests on young Will’s shoulders!

The Seeker is subtitled “The Dark is Rising”, which is also the name of the kid-fantasy series of books by Susan Cooper. I believe this film is an adaptation of the second book in the series, and while Will Stanton possesses neither a thunderbolt birthmark on his brow or rides a broom, it’s hard not to compare The Seeker to another (far more popular) literary cycle. The whole thing is very British, and frankly might be a little too dark and stuffy for most young-uns, although older ones might enjoy it. I will say it was very well shot and looks great. The acting is above average across the board, and it’s always nice to see Deadwood’s Ian McShane get work. If you’re a fan of this kind of stuff though, you’ve seen most of it before and done better in the Harry Potter films. There is the expected reliance on CGI, but the film does put it to some creative use. For the most part I enjoyed The Seeker and will recommend it with 3 skulls. There’s not much there that will scare you, unless you’re Will’s age, and even then it’s bloodless and fantasy oriented. If you’re scared of snakes though, watch out!

The Seeker was reviewed watching a screener copy that included no extra features. The movie was in Widescreen and ran 94 minutes.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, March 13th, 2008 at 10:20 pm and is filed under HORROR DVD reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.