Taylor Melnick is a young man. He's a former archaeologist, a good one, who is intelligent and sensitive. He is also crazy. When we meet Taylor, he's staying in a psychiatric institute. But now he's being released. Why? Well, even Taylor doesn't understand that one. Once he's free he goes back home to live at his deceased mother's house. Fortunately, Taylor's Uncle Stanley comes around for a visit. While Stanley is mostly a loser, he does give Taylor a job at an archaeological dig that is supposedly searching for American Indian relics. Although things seem to be going well for Taylor, the truth is he's suffering from hallucinations, nightmares, and a series of physical nervous ticks. On top of that, a sexy but very troubled next door neighbor named Kira won't leave him alone and sometimes drunkenly passes out in Taylor's house. There's more. For mysterious reasons, land developers are secretly trying to sabotage the archaeological dig and they may even intend on hurting Taylor. Will the young man fly into a psychotic rage? Will Taylor have to be committed again? Or will he solve the puzzles surrounding the American Indian artifacts and the greedy land developers?

On the back of the DVD cover there is a quote by an “IMDB user” that boldly states if the viewer liked SAW, DEVIL'S REJECTS, and THE SHINING, then the viewer will love Marshall E. Uzzle's A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS. Quite honestly, I seen no correlation whatsoever between Uzzle's movie and those three films. This SOV picture is not a horror flick. Not in any shape or form, in my opinion. It has no gore or splatter, and doesn't contain any actual creepy creatures, frightening demons, or maniacal killers. Most of all, it isn't the least bit scary. Personally, I see Uzzle's picture as a character study with some suspense and mystery in the story. There's nothing wrong with that, but the DVD cover and the strange review quote are both terribly misleading. That could possibly set this movie up as being a disappointment for some genre fans, particularly those fooled into thinking they were renting or buying a horror film.

Instead of pure horror, director/co-writer Uzzle and co-writer/actor Matt Terzian tell the tale of one man's inner struggles, his attempts at fitting in with the outside world, and the bizarre connection he has with American Native folklore. They do this at a fairly leisurely pace, too. While they have to be commended for not selling out commercially, they also have to take some heat for the weird pacing. The movie begins nicely, even stylishly, but soon begins to drag. Then it picks up again, only to become cluttered with a bit too much redundancy and digression concerning Uncle Stanley's and Kira's problems. It actually gets a bit distracting, because they break up the more interesting and dramatic moments that reveal how badly Taylor's grip on what is perceived as sanity is slipping. In fact, by the third act, the viewer expects something cathartic from Taylor. Uzzle and Terzian provide an ending that has its fascinating and meaningful points but also is a letdown at the same time. Maybe the climactic scenes simply weren't my cup of tea. It's not that I disliked how the story ended, it's that I didn't exactly like it either. It just kind of happened and that was that. At least, that's how it affected me.

The actors all do a good job and basically carry the movie on their backs. There are no bad performances here. Veteran character actor Geoffrey Lewis has to be mentioned for his convincing job as the deadbeat Stanley, while Troy Beyer is right on as the sexy but disheveled, suffering alcoholic Kira. That said, I think all the movie's best moments happen when the camera is on Terzian. He offers a multi-layered portrayal of Taylor, making the lead character likable but vulnerable, intelligent but crazy, and occupationally skilled but naïve about his work.

Indican Pictures offers a DVD that looks and sounds good, especially considering this is a low budget project shot with a Sony Cinealta 24p HD camera. That's not a knock on the camera at all. I'm merely pointing out that this movie wasn't shot on film. By the way, sometimes the sound really booms, particularly when it comes to the score. Extras include a trailer, a stills gallery, a very funny short film, and storyboards. There is also a rather confusing gallery showing the “progression of a poster.” Why is it confusing? I guess just because I didn't like the final product.

I'm not going to recommend Marshall E. Uzzle's A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS to genre fans across the board. However, I definitely think this picture will appeal to genre fans who are into character studies that are highlighted by good acting, especially by the lead performer.