"We trespassed. It's punishing us."
— Odal
Out of Darkness (formerly titled The Origin) is a 2022 horror film directed by Andrew Cumming, set 45,000 years ago during the Paleolithic period. It follows a small group of hunter-gatherers settling a new land at the behest of their leader, Adem, only to find themselves stalked and hunted by an unseen presence. The film stars Safia Oakley Green, Chuku Modu, and Kit Young.
The film is notable for having all its dialogue in a Conlang, Tola, with subtitles throughout the movie. It initially premiered in 2022 at the BFI London Film Festival; its wide release did not happen until 2024 due to COVID-19 Pandemic restrictions.
Out of Darkness provides examples of:
- Adam and Eve Plot: Beyah and Heron are ultimately the only survivors of the film, left to populate the island alone.
- All Cavemen Were Neanderthals: Thoroughly averted; the band is composed of anatomically and behaviorally modern humans, with full language. Actual Neanderthals do appear at the end, but though they are physically different from humans, they are just as intelligent, having their own language and customs.
- Conlang: Tola, the film's language, was invented by Daniel Andersson, mostly based on Arabic and Basque.
- Don't Go Into the Woods: The party ventures further inland after Heron is taken, coming across a dense forest. Adem wants to go further in, but the rest of the party warns him against it. Indeed, it proves to be a fatal mistake. Adem, Odal, and Ave are all ultimately killed there.
- Dramatic Unmask: Beyah and Geirr corner the masked Presence and knock the mask off of its face, revealing a Neanderthal woman.
- Due to the Dead: The Neanderthals give Ave a rich burial, with ochre makeup and shell jewelry. It's one of the signs they aren't the unthinking savages Beyah believes them to be.
- Dwindling Party: After Heron gets snatched, the party begins to dwindle. Adem dies first, then Odal kills Ave, then the Presence kills Odal, then Geirr is killed by a Neanderthal. Ultimately, only Beyah and Heron — who was alive the whole time — survive to the end.
- Human Sacrifice: Believing Beyah is responsible for bringing the Presence on them, Odal and Ave attempt to sacrifice her to it, but Beyah escapes. With Beyah beyond his reach, Odal opts to sacrifice Ave instead, but she in turn injures his leg badly enough that the Presence easily kills him.
- Menstrual Menace: Odal believes the Presence is hunting them because Beyah starts having her period shortly after they arrive on the island.
- Mercy Kill: When Adem is attacked and disfigured by the Presence, Ave puts him out of his misery.
- Nightmare Face: The Presence kills Adem by grotesquely mutilating his face with a stone club, splitting his jaw apart.
- No Party Like a Donner Party: After the Presence kills Adem, Beyah suggests eating his body, as they have no other food and Ave is particularly weak due to being pregnant. Everyone except Geirr ultimately partakes.
- Shown Their Work: The film is very up-to-date with modern archeology on Paleolithic lifestyles and practices. The "animation" coin that shows a man killing a deer is based on a real token, and the Neanderthal burial at the end is faithfully recreated from real Stone Age gravesites.
- Staff of Authority: Adem carries an ivory spear decorated with carvings, symbolizing his leadership of the group. After he dies, the spear gets passed around between various members, indicating them taking command.
