Audience evidenceThe verdict — who this is for, by the receipts

Made first for young men 1

The Darkling's audience scores lean most toward young men at 81 of 100 1. Its overall reach is rated targeted — targeted reach aimed at a specific demographic segment 2. On content balance it reads entertainment-first at 0 of 100, weighting storytelling over explicit messaging 3.

The receipts — every claim above is sourced
  1. 1
    Audience scoreyoung men 81 of 100 is the top quadrant.WhatSphere audience model, score_version 1
  2. 2
    ReachAudience breadth rated targeted.WhatSphere audience model, score_version 1
  3. 3
    Content balanceContent balance entertainment-first at 0 of 100.WhatSphere content-balance model, score_version 1

WhatSphere presents the sourced record; it does not cast the judgement. Every statement above is drawn from a stored, sourced row — shown beside it — and nothing is asserted beyond what those receipts support.

Verified July 30, 2026Scores accuracy-checked against current data.Think a score is wrong? Submit a correction.
Primary audienceYoung MenYoung Men81
Young MaleYoung FemaleMature MaleMature Female
Primary audienceYoung Men
Targeted

Quadrant Scores

Young Men
81
Young Women
35
Older Men
65
Older Women
19
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Audience Representation

Racial audience withheld

Only 50% of the cast has a researched race, so these scores stay blank.

Why this is blank

A partial classification would pull origin-race scores toward the researched slice and away from the cast as it is. The nine audience scores are withheld instead of shown as zero. Zero would mean no audience, which is not what a thin cast record says.

LGBTQ+
0

Faithfulness

Faithfulness not applicable

Faithfulness is scored only for adaptations.

Why this is blank

An original has no source text to compare. The score is left blank rather than shown as zero.

Advocacy

Advocacy0
Entertainment

Synopsis

When mechanic Jeff Obold meets the wealthy and mysterious Bruno Rubin, he is exposed for the first time to the finer things in life. But Jeff soon discovers the source of Rubin's power: a caged creature called a "Darkling," which possesses the power to create incredible wealth for the person who will pledge unending "companionship." Now, as Jeff sinks further and further into the blackness of a soul sold to the devil, he will discover there is a high price to pay for the fulfillment of his dreams.

Score version: v1Data confidence: 100%How are scores calculated?

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Lineage and popularity

No lineage or popularity yet

This title has no Wikidata match, source work, or Steam player snapshot. A missing snapshot is not zero.

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Advocacy Over Time in Horror

The average advocacy score of Horror titles by release year, with this title marked. Higher is more advocacy-driven.

25507519322026
Average advocacy score of Horror titles by release year
YearAverage advocacyTitles
193232
196302
197062
197214
197333
197542
197602
197732
197805
1979104
198043
198114
198204
198402
198532
198703
198822
199002
199202
199523
199632
199726
199802
199915
200015
200109
200218
200345
2004210
200529
200639
200717
200825
201053
201683
2017142
2018122
201963
2020263
20221210
202385
2024129
2025218
2026426
This title (2000)01

● This title (2000): advocacy 0 · explore Horror →

Cast & Crew

Leong Po-Chih (director) · Stephen M. Katz (director)