Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
A cinematic portrait of the homeless population who live permanently in the underground tunnels of New York City.
Dark Days is a remarkable debut documentary shot by Marc Singer on 16mm black-and-white film, capturing the underground homeless community living in Amtrak tunnels beneath New York City with extraordinary intimacy and visual power. The cinematography is genuinely exceptional — gritty, atmospheric, and deeply humane, making extraordinary use of available light in near-total darkness. The novelty is high: this is a singular, one-of-a-kind document of a hidden world, with a distinctive voice and unflinching access rarely achieved. The 'acting' category is complicated by the documentary format — the subjects are not performers, but some are more compelling on screen than others, averaging below conventional acting benchmarks. The plot/structure is engaging but loosely episodic, building empathy without strong narrative propulsion. The ending, in which the tunnel dwellers are relocated to proper housing following advocacy efforts, provides genuine emotional resolution but feels somewhat abrupt given the depth of what precedes it.