A Dark Song

As other reviewers have noted, if you're looking for an "Insanitarium"-style splatter-fest then this film is not for you. The first hour of "Dark Song" is a mysterious, deliberately-paced psychological thriller with two interesting characters stuck together in a house for months, feeling each other out. An occultist (Joseph) is trying to help a woman (Sophia) contact her dead son. This requires dark rituals, fasting episodes, and sleep deprivation. Their motivations and honesty are both in question, leading to plenty of dramatic tension. What's real, in terms of both past and present? Who's lying to whom? The film takes its time exploring these questions, and for the first hour at least, the viewer's patience is well-rewarded. I especially liked Steve Oram's occultist character, who doesn't fit the classic mold of "actor" or "hero" one bit, and is all the more fascinating for it. I won't go into deeper detail for spoiler reasons, but suffice to say that both characters fall into the logical traps of mistrust, manipulation, and frustration after being cooped up for so long.

My problem with "Dark Song" was its ending. It made sense from a dramatic standpoint, and of course there were several directions it could have taken. The fact that I wasn't satisfied doesn't mean you won't be. But along the way I had some really freaky ideas that I hoped would be explored, and they weren't.

In any case, I still recommend "Dark Song" as a mature, well-made, and disturbing psychological thriller.

Prepare yourself for another slow, slow, incredibly slow burn. Apparently, you need to be an occultist to fully appreciate this! I felt like A Dark Song worked on a couple levels, though I'm not certain this was this writer/director's full intention. I enjoyed the character study aspect -- two people holed up in the same house for months on end, and second, this is sort of a mystery -- as in, is this guy just some psycho? Drama/mystery, not a horror movie. Ultimately, you're looking for a great payoff with a slow burn... and frankly, I don't know if sitting through this particular 100 minutes is worth this particular payoff.

Hey, critics loved it!

A determined young woman and a damaged occultist risk their lives and souls to perform a dangerous ritual that will grant them what they want.

"A Dark Song" is already being praised as one of the best horror films of 2017. While it is always good to be skeptical about such hype or buzz, especially when it is coming out of the film's own PR machine, in this case it just so happens to be true. This film is bound to make it on to many best-of lists for the year.

What makes the film brilliant is its two main characters, who we (the audience) are never quite sure about. We have a woman with ambiguous motives and purposes, and this uncertainty only adds to our curiosity and the film's suspense. Even when we find out why she is involving herself in the occult, we are only given half-truths, and more layers are left to be unpeeled.

In contrast, we have a dubious leader for this cross-dimensional experiment. C. S. Lewis famously said that Jesus was either the lord, a liar, or a lunatic. While this man is no savior, the same three categories could apply to him. For much of the film we do not know if he is a lord (authentic), a liar (charlatan trying to get money from a mark) or a lunatic (someone who thinks they have powers but clearly does not). This uncertainty is what drives us to keep watching, to see if he can deliver on his promises... and how, along the way, we see how shady he just might be.

The dark, ominous score is perfect, and for a film with a modest budget we still get some creepy effects (such as a dead dog). The creators made a film the way a film ought to be made: within the boundaries allotted without over-reaching or stretching yourself too thin.

Most of all, the praise should go to the excellent writing, which not only provides the two great characters, but really captures the occult. Not that I claim any real knowledge of black magic or the dark arts, but everything here is done so well, so convincingly that it seems like it could be real. And that is about the highest praise a script or fantastic film can receive.

Seeking revenge is a pathway of darkness but forgiveness is absolving and divine.

Not a bad film but very slow. More creepy than horrific.

This writer has always felt that the job of a reviewer was not merely to whine and prattle about what does (or does not) happen on screen, but rather to try to introduce the film to the discerning viewer in a way which assists the decision as to whether to see it ... or not? It is projects like Dark Song, however, that make such a simple ambition seem ever so complex.

For starters, I will suggest that the best (and most recent) analog I can name is the excellent 2016 Autopsy of Jane Doe. Both films are clearly of the horror genre, both films work their magic by confining two strong personalities (and superb actors) in a confined space, and both films follow the Prime Directive of possibly every horror film ever made, namely "whatever can go wrong will go wrong."

But that's where the similarities end. Autopsy of Jane Doe is merely a solid and workmanlike exposition of a clever, entertaining, theme. Dark Song is simultaneously the debut of a writer/director with a distinct, clear and uncommon "voice"; and, at the same time, a horror tale so intricately involved with the minutiae, the moment-to-moment, of true ritual magic (is there any other kind?) that at times you almost, just for a split second, wonder if you are watching a reality show instead of a fictional drama?

No small feat, that. Especially from a country that can lay legitimate claim to having produced one of the only genuine, verified, ritual occultists in western history (Aleister Crowley). To watch a film like this aware that there are individuals who literally dedicate their lives to such practices takes the viewer to new levels of awareness ... and terror.

The end result is something about as distant from the dozens of currently popular "found footage" films ... as the earth is from the moon.

Plainly put, to appreciate this film, to drink in and savour every nuance, the viewer himself (or herself) must be willing to commit to the movie to the same extent that the central characters commit to the core ritual.

That is to say, lock yourself in, don't leave your seat, and, whatever happens, do not break the circle of salt.

If you do all that, you may not get to meet an "angel" willing to grant your special boon, but you will get a film experience you will likely never forget.