Gothic horror doesn’t always have to be set in a haunted English mansion. The core of the genre is an environment, a society, or a setting where the entire universe itself seems bent on controlling the hero’s every move. I’ve written before about how the X-Files is a modern equivalent of classic Gothic mystery or horror, but for me the best example is the 1998 cult film Dark City.
Dark City was the creation of Australian writer/director Alex Proyas, along with US writers Lem Dobbs and David Goyer, a nightmarish noir mystery that slowly transforms into a sci-fi epic. Without giving away any major spoilers, the plot revolves around John Murdoch (played by Rufus Sewell), a man who awakes in a bathtub in a run-down hotel with only fractured memories of his past life. When he stumbles out into his bedroom and finds a dead body, he panics and escapes into the city, fleeing the police while trying to piece together his memories and the reasons behind the string of murders terrorising the city. However, as he investigates, he finds out that the city itself is a giant maze, its citizens trapped in a labyrinth of brick and steel under an eternal night where the sun never seems to rise. Even more terrifying are “Strangers,” pale men dressed in black who go from house to house changing people’s memories…
The plot and character construction are fantastic, and there’s a lot that can be learnt from it. John’s journey starts small, stopping to save a goldfish or trying to retrieve a lost wallet, then slowly growing in scope until he is caught up in apocalyptic psychic battles across an entire cityscape. The plot seamlessly layers internal and external goals, with John Murdoch tracking down the men and women from his memory, becoming fixated on finding the idyllic Shell Beach of his childhood, and in doing so uncovers the horrifying truth of what lies underneath the city. The plot elements of the murders, John’s estranged wife, and the city where the sun never seems to rise, all play off each other, keeping the viewers engaged until the last scene.
Memory plays a large part of the plot, with each character slowly unravelling as they start to question the memories they assume are the building blocks of their personality. Two stand-out characters here are Inspector Frank Bumstead and John’s estranged wife Emma (William Hurt and Jennifer Connelly), who start out trying to track down John, only to realise that his “mental breakdown” isn’t as far-fetched as it first appears. The central character of John is beautifully realised by Rufus Sewell, portraying a man who desperately wants to escape to the one happy, bright place he can remember, and slowly realising that it may never have existed at all.
As with all Gothic horror, the city itself is a character within this story. The neo-noir mix of architecture, the strangely transforming city that warps and bends as characters move through it, the breakup of sleek, ordered form into twisted horror as the protagonists begin to reach the maze’s edge – the city literally breathes, grows and fights against the heroes of this story.
While the special effects of the film would probably be considered a little dated in our post-MCU film industry, the plot and atmosphere of Dark City make it well worth tracking down. If you get the chance, grab a copy and give it a watch – then quickly go and check out your own childhood home to make sure those memories are real!
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