My favorite film of all time, directed by the amazing Kevin Philips (accept my follow request on insta plz), I have made every person in my life watch this. So good. Here is my obsessive rewatching of the film revitalized and put into multiple way too long paragraphs that are looking way too deeply into it. This first part of the essay will focus on more broad analysis, while the second half with delve in more complex scene unpacking. Now, if you haven't seen this film please stop reading immediately and go improve your life by watching it. This is your last warning before we enter spoiler city!
For context: Super Dark Times takes place in Upstate New York, in a suburban town during the cold winter months. It’s a small town, and throughout the film we get the feeling that something isn’t quite right there. The characters–teenagers–are obviously bored with their environment, and appear fairly desperate for entertainment–they hang out at the convenience store, a bridge, the park… There clearly isn’t much to do in this town. Boredom runs rampant. Super Dark Times explores the tumultuous relationship between the two main characters after a horrific event that takes place near the beginning of the film, and eventually follows a mini murder spree at the hands of one of the main characters: Josh. The dialogue in the beginning of this film is very “teenage boy”. The humor isn’t meant to actually be funny, but rather to emphasize the characterization of Josh, Zach, Charlie, and Daryl as boys being boys. They are youth, and this dialogue is meant to exemplify the complex innocence of being a teenager; specifically, a teenage boy. They talk about girls, joke about dicks and sex, objectify women… typical teenage boy things. After the inciting incident of the film (in which Daryl is accidentally killed by Josh with a katana), however, the dialogue is almost abruptly shifted into obviously not teenage boy discussions. They have to tackle grief and guilt, are thrust into a sort of a situation they’re not equipped or ready to deal with–and the film uses the abrupt shift in the tone and dialogue (specifically the abrupt lack of any “teenage” humor) to emphasize that. Essentially, this shift in tone introduces one of the main themes of the film: the fear and terror of that shift from a teenager to adulthood. Teen angst and violent innocence are at their best in Super Dark Times. This film attempts to explore the multi-faceted aspects of being a teenager in the 90s, with Zach and Josh as the face of raw teenage adolescence. The emotions of these two characters are displayed for the audience to see–exposed–and we follow them as their relationship with both themselves and each other shifts throughout the narrative. When you see the plot on paper, the film seems simple–almost repetitive. We’ve seen the “angry white guy going on a murder spree” before. Hell, it’s more than half of the horror genre. However, the dark and gritty mood of the film is where it differs from what’s come before. The steller editing, the haunting soundtrack, the chilling cinematography, all work together to create an unsettling mood. This mood expands and spreads as the plot develops and the relationship between the two main characters becomes more and more twisted–thrusting a unique sense of dread into the film as you get further into it. Tension and atmosphere are Super Dark Times’s strongest features, and I’m going to focus on the related role of color, and how it’s used in Super Dark Times to express themes of queer desire and shame in its main characters.
Direction: Phillips uses a lot of symmetry, typically in wide shots. For example: Josh and Zach sitting on the couch near the beginning of the film; the kitchen shot at 15:45; and the various shots of the characters biking through the street. He also integrates a lot of tracking and static shots. Sometimes the camera pans towards characters or objects of interest slowly–and those pans become faster depending on the mood of the scene; for example the party scenes to emphasize the “fast paced” atmosphere. The lighting becomes darker in scenes directly after the incident, with shots such as the one at 31:25. Contrast is also used a great deal. A specific shot style can be seen over and over again in the film, with the sky/light background creating back lighting and giving the figure and its surroundings a black shadow (50:30, for example: outside Josh’s room is black, and when entering it’s very bright, almost white). The director also uses occasional through the door shots to emphasize the tension in high stress situations: for example, when Zach is untying Allison. In general the directional style seems to emphasize tension over everything else. Most camera choices and lighting choices are implemented to intentionally create a feeling of unease, and add to the growing tension through the continuation of the film - making the climax all the more worthwhile.
Acting: The acting in this film is subtle. The supporting actors' performances are good, but the strength lies in the two main characters. They both have incredible chemistry, and their connection throughout the film is portrayed through palpable growing tension due to the events of the film. The actor for Josh portrays his character's traits by choosing to give him a lot of nervous ticks. He often messes with his glasses or his face, and his body language is generally closed off (crossed arms, lazy posture, etc.). Josh post incident moves more erratically, the actor choosing to showcase his character with even more extreme nervous ticks–they become generally more noticeable. In contrast, the actor for Zach portrays his character more subtly. He uses voice inflection and facial expressions to express his character’s emotions, rather than movement. After the incident, his voice is far softer, but can change in volume depending on the topic of discussion. Sometimes he stutters. When discussing the incident, he messes with his jeans as a nervous tick, and often has physical outbursts. The actor is very good at portraying the inner turmoil the character is feeling after being a part of his friend's death. He wants to talk to someone, but has no friend to turn to–and the actor does well at expressing the stress that comes from that in a very subtle manner.
Visual Aspects: There are a few interesting visual choices in this film. For one, there is a rather large amount of slo-mo. Slo-mo is often used in the film during times of distress: when the police can be seen going by as Zach is jogging, when they slice the milk cartons with the katana (23:11), when Zach realizes Josh is going to kill Allison (1:23:44), when he is running towards Meghan’s house (1:28:54), and when Josh stabs Zach as he attempts to escape through Meghan’s front door (1:34:32). Slo-mo can be detrimental to horror in many cases, as it can break the viewer's immersion from a scene. However, in this case the director uses slo-mo merely in short bursts (mere seconds) during high stress situations to strengthen the feeling of tension. .. Color especially is used in a variety of ways in the film. Typically, Josh can be seen wearing warmer colors, such as his orange jacket, and the yellow flannel that he wears in the climax fight. In contrast, Zach is typically seen wearing cooler colors–such as his blue hoodie. Yellow, by representing insanity and obsession, is used to represent the slow spread of destruction the death of their friend is having on the two main characters. After Josh accidentally stabs Daryl, and the friends deal with the aftermath, yellow can be seen throughout the film. Most of Josh’s clothing choices have yellow, while the yellow in Zach is more subtle–for example, the curtains in his room. The use of yellow works to visualize the ways in which the insanity that is integrating itself into Josh is slowly infecting Zach’s life as well. Yellow is also seen in Meghan’s living room during the climax, which is a fight between Zack and Josh, suggesting the fact that insanity has completely overtaken Josh’s mind–and that he is beyond saving. The blue, to contrast, represents tragedy and melancholy. Zach, at the beginning of the film, wears far more brown clothing. This represents stability. Zach, after the incident, is completely alone. He has no one to talk to, no one to turn to, and that results in a sadness at his core that is expressed throughout the film with the color blue.
Sonic Aspects: The soundtrack primarily uses hard rock (with some alternative 90s indie), typically introduced to the audience diegetically through Zach’s headphones. The score differs immensely from the mostly hardcore guitar and vocal centric soundtrack, with dark yet nostalgic synth/electronica music of varying intensity applying unique tension to scenes. Darker, more slow synth is used to apply a nervous tension to scenes in which there is often something hidden from the audience, while the faster-paced electronica is used to apply anxiety during high-intensity scenes (for example, the scenes in which Zach is attempting to find Allison before Josh kills her). Despite the differences between the genres used in this soundtrack, one thing that they have in common is that they all give a slight feeling of nostalgia. Unlike most movies that take place in the 90s, this film doesn’t scream it by using obvious “90s” items, or even overtly stating the year. The soundtrack/score is a way for the film to remind the viewer the time that this takes place in, in a less obnoxious way than the average “takes place in the 90s” film. The score specifically is also used to introduce underlying themes throughout the film. For example, when Allison comes to Zach’s house they have a tender moment. Soft synth music plays, as they come close to kissing–and as Allison holds Zach. Further into the film, during Zach’s dream sequence in which he has sex with Allison while Josh watches, eerie music cut with the echoing sounds of screaming can be heard. This contrasts the soft synth that played during the beginning of Allison and Zach’s relationship, and emphasizes the effect that Josh and the death of Zach’s friend is having on his own psyche.
part 1 fin
date completed: apr. 15, 2023