Clocking in at around an hour, Dariuss is another assault on the senses from Guerilla Metropolitana (who brought us the similarly shattering The Benefactress). It’s a blending of found footage, surrealism, and avant-garde filmmaking in an equally uncompromising way.
The story, set in rural Essex, follows a family destroyed by the disappearance and presumed death of a young girl. The family’s seemingly idyllic middle-class existence in the English countryside descends into violence, pain, and bloodshed as each family member struggles to deal with their loss. It’s not exactly an original premise for a psychological horror film, but rather than telling this story in a linear fashion, Dariuss fractures it into disjointed, often disturbing vignettes that depict grief in its most grotesque and psychologically unhinged forms. The result is a viewing experience that feels intentionally disorientating, forcing the audience to piece together meaning from fragments of imagery, sound, and symbolic violence.
Like The Benefactress, Dariuss is not a film for everyone. Its explicit imagery and confrontational themes have been seen by some as signs of a bold work of underground art. Others dismiss it as excessive and impenetrable. Guerilla Metropolitana employs degraded film textures, strobe effects, and layered sound design to create a nightmarish atmosphere that feels both intimate and alienating.
Dariuss is less about narrative satisfaction and more about immersion in a director’s uncompromising vision. It’s a film that challenges, disturbs, and lingers. Whether you view it as a daring artistic statement or an exercise in extremity will depend entirely on your tolerance for experimental cinema.
DARIUSS is available on Blu-ray from Srs Cinema.
