While the concept behind this film is interesting, the story feels incomplete. Down a Dark Hall is a mildly interesting adaptation of a YA novel but not very impressive in any way.
A rebellious and problematic teenage girl, Kit Gordy, is sent off to Blackwood Boarding School, an exclusive alternative to juvenile detention. She realizes upon her arrival that she is one of only five young women to be accepted to this elite academy. The other girls are also in need of some behavioral adjustment, and there are arguments among them almost instantly. As they settle into their new home and routine, they realize that there is something off about how quickly each of them begins to pick up new artistic skills.
Kit is suspicious of her peers, her studies, and especially her headmistress, Madame Duret. She roams the halls, searches rooms and does lots of literary research because her instincts tell her something is off about this place. Madame Duret and all of the other staff discourage these doubts and instead encourage Kit to continue pursuing her newfound musical talent.
Desperate for freedom, Kit is frantic to solve the mysteries of Blackwood Boarding school. The more she discovers, the more she begins to realize that it all may be too late.
Down a Dark Hall is based on an interesting concept. It challenges the value of the individual against the collective benefit of society. The film is based on a novel of the same name, written in 1974 by Lois Duncan. Unfortunately, this film is an example of exactly what can go wrong when adapting a book to film. Through its duration, all I could focus on was how incomplete and flat the story felt. Scenes and storylines felt chopped and pieced together, moments of significance were muddled by the audience’s insufficient knowledge of background information and the film as a whole felt incomplete. However, for anyone that had read the novel before viewing the film, they may have a more holistic take on the story and the concept in general.
Overall, this film wasn’t entirely bad. It just fell short of delivering a complete story to audiences that have no background knowledge of the plot.
