Darkon

Good Lord people it's only a game.

Now I have to admit I've played my fair share of Dungeons and Dragons games in the past and if the opportunity arose I'd probably be interested in playing the game again but for some reason I've always found people who are into Live Action Role Playing ( LARPing ) slightly odd, I mean who wants to dress up in costume and pretend they are orcs ?

Well as it turns out plenty of people like to dress up and live fantasy lives ( no not that sort of fantasy, get your mind out of the gutter ) and Darkon is about some of those people and two in particular.

I haven't as yet listened to the commentaries on the DVD but I'm guessing that the documentary presents a fairly balanced portrayal of the LARPing hobby and while I guess I understand its appeal to some people it's certainly not for me.

The movie does seem to suggest that most people who enjoy LARPing and I guess role playing in general as people who are at least a little unhappy with themselves and the lives they lead, the films two main subjects certainly fit into that category, over the course of the documentary the viewer sees them become obsessed with the game, their place within it and the conflict and stress it can inflict on relationships.

If the players could just remember it's only a game I think they'd enjoy their hobby even more but then that wouldn't have made for a very interesting movie.

It must be said that some of the players had very nice costumes.