Dariuss — Dariuss (DVD)
Dariuss is a low-budget slice of experimental/ arty horror from the UK. The 2023 film features no formal dialogue and is a jarring/ rapid cut affair- which moves between lightly unsettling, puzzling, and at points fairly disturbing- with moments of deranged sexualized violence. Here from SRS Cinema is a DVD release of the film.
Dariuss was written and directed by Italian living in London Guerrilla Metropolitana. It’s his first ( just about) feature length, with four other short credits to his name, all from the year 2012- taking in Bits, My Special Superhero - a visual subtext of madness and rejection, The Baron and the Harpsichord, and The Censor - A British horror tale of Real politics and social-moral code.
Dariuss slides in a minute or so over the hour mark, and it is largely a very manic/ nightmarishly abstract ride- which slows down ever so often moments of light creepy unease and later violent sexual depravity.
After the brief black and red credits we drop into fairly innocent/ mellow begins, as we get colour grain-aged footage of a pre-teen girl walking around a park/ near a river or stream. Over this plays elegant and melodic piano music. She dances and prances around in her welton boots, hat and hooded coat- though we never see her face. She stops to reach for something from a tree, we get a darting shot of a chocolate/ candy bar wrapper- then the stock turns blood red, and we jump into the rapid visual/audio nightmare.
The footage takes in the likes of monochrome film of a pregnant woman in a park, all manner of gurgling/ flesh riping sounds, crude sexualized drawings, something bloody on a map of leaves, a bearded man in a nighttime car with looped/ sped-up moments of him licking his lips, a woman made to look old with a granny wig on milking her breast into a milk bottle, a tattooed woman pleasuring her self on a murky contrast shot bed, a painting of a young woman, other morbidly tinged/ filtered footage, and lots of flicking flash bulb footage, and steady use of the sound of dripping water.
The first three-quarters of the film flashes by well enough, with a good sense of dark mystery and moments of unease- I think I only got a little jaded/ bored with a few overlong secens, and the use of the flash blub/ water sounds do get a little trying at points.
In the last quarter we drive into the more troubling/ disturbing side of the film- this takes in looped grainy footage of a woman being raped/ attacked in her bed. Another older woman with a breath tube attacked with innards being pulled out of her nether regions, demented stabbing/ guts licking, and brief stimulated male masturbation. There are some impactful moments in this last half, and I’d say you’ll certainly have to have some grounding in extreme underground horror. All in all, Dariuss is a passable example of arty horror, with the nasty stuff left to the end.
This region-free DVD is sadly a rather bare-bones affair- as normally SRS Cinema releases feature a director's commentary, or other shorts. But all we get here is an image gallery and a trailer reel. Though I guess as the film is so arty/ abstract, it’s best we have no extras- as you can fully experience it, in an unbiased manner/ make up your mind setting.
Dariuss most certainly won’t be for everyone, and you’ll need to enjoy both rapidly cut art film and extreme horror to even consider it. But all in all, I thought this was a promising first feature from Mr Metropolitana, and I look forward to seeing what he comes up with next.