Dakota Ray is seemingly always at work; he always has a new movie recently released or on the horizon. This is a good thing for someone like me because I’ve loved all of his work so far. Ray’s films run the gamut from gleeful arrays of nasty characters living the scumbag life to dark, introspective works with a more serious tone. The most recent film I’ve happily laid eyes upon in his line is The Dark Days of Demetrius. I was lucky enough to secure a copy through an indiegogo campaign along with some other great flicks from the director and I couldn’t be happier with the finished product.
The Dark Days of Demetrius is perhaps the darkest and most brooding film of Dakota Ray’s career so far. It doesn’t have the wide array of colorful characters of previous work and instead focuses primarily on two very different and dangerous individuals. This is a good move for this work. While I’ve loved the past films dealing with a larger cast, The Dark Days of Demetrius is a desolate and lonely film that wouldn’t have been served well by too many others, especially given the isolated properties of our main characters. Allow me to introduce them.
Demetrius (Dakota Ray) is a serial killer who has a special passion for filming his brutal killings and streaming the videos for the world to see. He has been appropriately dubbed “The Live Stream Killer” and has amassed quite a fanbase. Not everyone condones his activities, understandably, but he has more than enough followers who do. As things progress, Demetrius even begins to allow his viewers the option of input, deciding who lives and who dies. Unfortunately for his victims, however, Demetrius’s bloodthirsty fans are hardly going to vote in their favor. Demetrius isn’t so much about fame as he is about expression. He is an angry, frustrated character who considers himself an artist. The murders make him feel better, but only for a short time before his pain demands another kill. In a way, he sees what he does to be not only art, but a necessity. He feels that life he takes elevates his own and this thirst drives the various murders that he performs.
Our secondary character is Clive (Fred Epstein). Clive is a different kind of dangerous and, in certain ways, a far more wretched character than Demetrius. Clive runs his own news site which is really more of an exploitative news/shock site hybrid. Clive doesn’t care who gets hurt, who gets killed, or whose life gets ruined, as long as he has his story and website patrons. This means that Clive has no problem killing people himself and making his own news stories to write about. However, when he starts doing business with Demetrius, the infamous Live Stream Killer, it becomes a battle between the two that is sure to end badly for one of them. There is another character of note down the line, but I don’t want to spoil where it all goes as the third act really gets ramped up and interesting.
The film keeps a simple premise and in doing so is able to dedicate extra time to the tone and inner workings of its characters. Both Demetrius and Clive narrate their respective activities and you get a good sense of who they are and what makes them tick. They are both despicable, but a perfect balance as they are so different. Demetrius is angry and tortured. An unfortunate childhood and disconnection from those around him has driven his passion and enthusiasm for stabbing, strangling, and shooting his way into recognition and self fulfillment. Clive is a muckraker through and through. He isn’t tortured or even delusional, he simply lacks morals and empathy of any kind. While he seems to have a level of distain for those he kills, he’s less about the murders themselves and more about furthering his success. Watching the two play off each other and try to match wits is a lot of fun and their clashing personalities up the ante more and more with each interaction.
I really appreciate the way The Dark Days of Demetrius uses sound, melding Dakota Ray’s trademark metal soundtrack with the narration and anticipated breath of the next kill. It all does a great job of capturing the emotions of the title character and in a way, the movie itself becomes like a metal song; dark and violent, rough and aggressive. It’s almost as if the film is one big autobiographical poem from a madman that becomes intercepted by another. The pacing is well constructed and keeps the film from ever feeling stagnant or boring in any way. Just enough of everything is there.
All in all, The Dark Days of Demetrius makes me excited for the next Dakota Ray movie. It’s always great to see what he has in store next and I’ll always be eager to take a look. Ray was kind enough to once again give me a shout out in the credits which is a wonderful treat, but just a reminder that I had nothing to do with the film itself and this is an unbiased review. I’m just a fan who is happy to continue supporting the artists and works that I truly appreciate.
P.J. Griffin, HMS
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