Out of Darkness is a horror film set in the Paleolithic with a structure that partly refers to films like Alien and Predator where, however, in the third act the register will be changed a bit, focusing everything on human tribalism and how this species destroys itself story.
Cumming manages the mystery rather well, the creature, the predator, which seems to be wandering among the clan of the protagonists is not shown right away, the direction works precisely in not showing.
The staging does his duty, the scenes at night, among the fire, work well, as do those among the fog which manage to create the right atmosphere.
Even the timing, the predator's attacks are not direct, the direction albeit through mechanisms, he takes his time before the ambushes.
The usual expedient instead of the creature wandering around in the dim light to fuel the tension smacks of too much abuse and over-sightedness, nothing very serious but in 2024 it is something avoidable.
/>The protagonist Beyah is a girl who begins to menstruate, this also symbolizes her change, her maturation, in fact from a girl who "must fulfill" the sexual needs of the clan leader Adem, she will become a hunter.
The dynamics of the group focus on the fact that Adem has promised a fertile land to live in but among them there is only darkness, Odal, the eldest, is the most afraid and in fact he will want to sacrifice members of the group to the creatures that he believes to be a demon.
If however Odal and also Adem, the latter also through the desire to save his son Heron, are functional characters but who do their part for a film of this kind, Hail the other woman present in the group and Geirr, Adem's right-hand man remain a little too much on the surface without expressing their point of view too much.
Ave has a dialogue about menstruation with Beyah, he tells her that now she can fulfill her " purpose" that is to sexually satisfy Adem, but in fact later on he will not have central dynamics, of course he will have his own existence which, if desired, demonstrates how Beyah cannot trust anyone.
Geirr himself will be a character with not too much to say.< br />The twist will probably make many people turn up their noses but it makes us understand where Cumming wants to go.
Humanity clashing with each other, the survival of one's tribe at the expense of the community, of understanding each other.
If anything, where we can find some flaw is that Beyah, out of nowhere, becomes a very skilled hunter, ok in any case she is part of a clan that necessarily has to procure food so perhaps in her background she has some hunting skills; however, the aura of the invincible predator of the creature is somewhat disavowed.
It is still a debut film, even the duration could have had a little more running time to further fuel the tension, which is nevertheless created and give a little more space to interactions.
Cumming, however, offers winning sequences, the one of the Northern Lights in green is very good and creates atmosphere, as well as being excellent for time management, dilated, the entire entrance of Beyah in the cave at the end.
The direction also through slow camera movements and rotations punctuates the tension.
There is potential, Cumming, unlike many others, is aware that the mystery, the not showing is more atmospheric and more captivating than shooting the villain straight onto the screen.