The material plays like a common potboiler mystery with predictable twists and turns. That such weighty subject matter has been reduced to such banality is a tale of true crime itself.

| Original Score: 2/4 | May 29, 2022

There is quite a bit to Dark Places that appears very marketable, at least on the surface.

| Original Score: C- | Jul 4, 2020

'Dark Places' is a complete waste of time that wastes Theron, Moretz and the rest of the cast to give us a lazy thriller. [Full Review in Spanish]

| Apr 15, 2020

Dark Places rarely rises above the level of tepid episode of "Cold Case."

| Original Score: 1.5/5 | Jul 16, 2019

The possibility of fast-tracking another of Gillian Flynn's intricately plotted thrillers from page to screen must have seemed like a fantastic idea... To call the final product a botch job would be a considerable kindness; it's just plain awful.

| Original Score: 1/5 | Apr 8, 2019

[An] apathetic film with no fire in its belly.

| Original Score: 5.5/10 | Aug 30, 2018

All this leaves us with Charlize Theron, an unquestionably talented actress who has somehow failed to find her rightful place.

| Jan 11, 2018

... what is exposed is revealing, but the form does not end up being conclusive. [Full review in Spanish]

| Dec 13, 2017

Well over half of the twists don't work and will either leave you groaning or laughing

| Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 3, 2017

Dark Places aims for the same kind of shocking twists and reveals as Gone Girl, but falls woefully short.

| Oct 17, 2017

It's simply an exercise in a kind of grimness that Quebecoise directors seem to enjoy (cf. Denis Villeneuve's Prisoners). But if that's your idea of a good time, you're advised to stick with the novel.

| Oct 11, 2017

It is Theron and Nicholas Hoult, and supporting cast members like Chloe Grace Moretz and Christina Hendricks, who make this worth exploring.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 20, 2017

Dark Places has all the building blocks of a good feature-and then forces everyone in it to motormouth through heavy-handed dialogue, trying to cram a fairly complex novel into an uninspired two-hour crime drama.

| Aug 22, 2017

Workmanlike, lean and diverting but ultimately lacking in key things a strong sense of place and a true feeling of darkness. Which is a bit of a blow, given the title.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 2, 2017

Dark Places has suggestions of a moody true-crime drama ... But languid pacing, poor directorial choices and a series of narrative dead ends make watching it a tiresome chore.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 6, 2016

Wishy-washy and all-round characterless, Dark Places is neither as dark nor as daring as its synopsis, title and everything else about it suggests. In fact, it's disappointingly vanilla and a film better left off for a small-screen viewing.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 5, 2016

Based on another page-turner by Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn, mystery thriller Dark Places can't match its predecessor for throat-grabbing suspense.

| Mar 8, 2016

The film races through the endless flashbacks and clichd material and winds up feeling a bit of a potboiler.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 25, 2016

Paquet-Brenner invests the split-time action with some brooding menace and the cinematographer, Barry Ackroyd, does his best to lend some urgency, even as things spiral from suspense into outright silliness.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 24, 2016

The film, overall, is fatally uncertain of its identity - never quite certain whether it's a gruesome murder-mystery out to shock us or a heavy, character-based drama about a family torn apart.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 22, 2016