A Dark Song Reviews

About a third into "A Dark Song" I knew that I was watching something, that short of a sudden change in quality, would be an immediate favorite. Upon completion, I found that the film transcended even this assertion. I can honestly say "A Dark Song" is absolutely one of the best horror films I've ever seen.

The film follows Sophia, a grieving mother who spares no expense or physical/spiritual comfort to find what she seeks. Driven by this need she employs the talents of a seemingly undependable adept of magick named Joseph Solomon. Together they undergo a grueling ritual of invocation that brings both of them closer to their respective desires. Desires which may not be as clear as initially perceived.

Herein lies the driving force of the majority of the film and one of its biggest strengths. Bowing to no Hollywood convention, the film instead chooses to stir up a fair amount of anticipation for the results of the ritual while simultaneously fostering an atmosphere of paranoid suspicion between our two protagonists. Sophia's true intentions become more and more dubious with each passing moment and Solomon's intense dedication to his craft and crass nature begin to make the viewer wonder if he's a manipulative charlatan.

The film expertly mounts the interpersonal tensions and never quite let's you get a firm grasp on what either party is thinking, making your reactions to them vacillate from empathy to distrust at a drop of the hat. The characters are depicted with such naked emotional humanity that the filmmaker's risked their likability. To counter this, the viewer is kept enraptured by the curious nature of their undertaking.

This is yet another strength of the film. "A Dark Song" by far has the most accurate onscreen depiction of the rigors of ritual that I've seen committed to film thus far. People familiar with these matters will have a ball with the informed approach to the subject. For the average viewer, the film really communicates how the search for knowledge can be so hypnotic and alluring and why the occult has always been a pursuit of men throughout the ages and to film's leads. We just want to know what will come at the end of their journey, no matter our reactions to their personal attributes.

The slow boil of psychological horror meets the metaphysical is fascinatingly engaging and more so as the character's interactions evolve and their motivations become increasingly clear. With this clarity the stakes dramatically rise and the latter portion of the film that we've been anticipating must truly deliver or risk wasting such fertile foundations.

Does it deliver? Thankfully, it does without ever crossing over to the standard scare 'em ups that most would indulge in at this point. Showing restraint to maintain it's credibility, the film still manages to paint a clear and terrifying vision of the worlds beyond ours before offering one helluva satisfying conclusion to the story and Sophia's character arch.

Despite its metaphysical conceits, "A Dark Song" is about the personal damnation that our unwholesome obsessions and emotions can drive us to. Psychological horror walks on the same plain as the supernatural in this film and it does so with finesse. Beautiful cinematography, an ominous score, and fantastic acting only sweeten the pot. Highly recommended.