It's difficult to find many films today that demand your attention when not involving battling robots, superheroes or a bunch of buddies celebrating ANOTHER sleepless night in Vegas. Movies that have deeper motives usually fall by the waist side in theaters. But thanks to digital streaming and word of mouth through social media, films like this can strive forward and be seen by people who almost a decade ago still didn't have the advantages we have now in that aspect. The movie itself carries much weight with its stars, who bring a raw dynamic that helps not only shape the movie, but noticeably shape the actors as well. Lucas Till and Kyle Schmid have excellent chemistry together that is increased by the steady and focused directing that kept the pace exactly where it needed to be. Sonja Kinski is as beautiful as she is intimidating, with a role that reminds one of Lisbeth Salander from "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" with still stands out on its own as a very dark and real performance. I highly recommend this film to fans of the noir genre, and I recommend it to all who are looking for a daring and enthralling film they won't soon forget.

Dark Hearts is a vampire story that isn't a vampire story—a figurative take on well-worn folktales characterized by a literal thirst for blood, heightened sexuality, and bodily immortality. Such folklore has been exploited time and again by shrewd marketers targeting young adults—the demographic most driven by hormones, afflicted with delusions of invincibility, and unschooled in artistic discrimination. DH strikes at the core of these primordial desires but raises the creative bar by taking the literal to the figurative. It's been argued that all successful artists attain immortality through fame as do the subjects they choose to depict—so long as each model's essence is truly captured by the artist, and perhaps even sacrificed by the model for the sake of the work. If this be the case, then screenwriter Christian Piers Betley has successfully married the symbolic immortality of fine art to the time-honored vampiric folklore to engender a unique brand of bloodlust and a far more plausible anti-heroic struggle for immortality. Betley's story flourishes under the direction of Rudolf Buitendach (a man with an apparent love for the industrial underbelly of Los Angeles) who draws impressively visceral performances from stars Kyle Schmid (who plays struggling artist, Colson) and Lucas Till (Colson's naive younger brother, Sam) as well as from newcomer Sonja Kinski (sultry singer and kept girl, Fran) who moves deftly between femme fatale and fragile waif. Theme-wise, other volatile ingredients in the pot include fraternal rivalry, psychological addiction, paranoia, mental/physical abuse, and men with guns—all of the makings of a complex thriller and a Shakespearean tragedy. Some characters could have been imbued with a bit more dimension. For example, Goran Visnjic plays the all-too-familiar violent mobster with no apparent motive beyond a psychopathic need to possess and harm. Overall, however, DH is a winning, atmospheric debut piece from an up-and-coming filmmaker whose future work I await with anticipation.

Taking the road less traveled, "Dark Hearts" is an edgy indie film that explores the dynamics of love and hate, creation and destruction in a modern subculture that is reminiscent of the salons in Paris during the 18th century. Set against the backdrop of the postmodern minefield of the contemporary urban landscape, the heady mixture results in a cocktail that takes the viewer through a psychological labyrinth rarely found in mainstream film. The performances are excellent and provide insight to the shadows and light that make the characters come alive with a gritty realism against an nearly surreal backdrop. This film is a must see for thrillers that travel off the beaten path!