"Two complete strangers cutting themselves off from the world inside of a dilapidated mansion? That's already a movie I want to see. But once A Dark Song starts delving into issues like love, loss, faith, and the natural human reaction to sudden tragedy, that's when it blossoms from a novel concept to a truly powerful piece of genre filmmaking."
-Scott Weinberg, Nerdist
As someone who grew up with the testosterone-fueled problem child that was SPIKE TV, I was no more than 8 or 9 years old the first time I saw an episode of Joe Rogan's FEAR FACTOR. Of course! I was nauseated, excited to see the outcome of a few challenges, but more than any other show I had seen before It made me think: why on earth would anyone want to be on TV so badly? I don't think there's any cash prize large enough for me to go through the myriad of horrors very young and very stoned Joe Rogan may have, but plenty of other shows like that nowadays make me cringe to the very bones.
I would refer to quite a few of my favourite movies as "devastating but hopeful", and this is exactly one of those movies.
A Dark Song is a 2016 Irish independent horror film, written and directed by Liam Gavin and starring Steve Oram and Catherine Walker. Sophia Howard rents a house in the countryside of Wales and hires the occultist Joseph Solomon to contact her son who was kidnapped and murdered by teenagers practicing black magic. Over the days, Sophia follows the guidance of Solomon in rituals to purify her soul. However, Sophia has a hidden agenda that jeopardizes their lives.
On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 90% approval rating based on 41 reviews
For the entirety of this movie, things are deeply uncertain. Much like the beginning of Bird Box, all we really know is that things are going to be incredibly difficult. The ritual Sophia is putting herself through is by no means the simple goat sacrifice of other ritual films. It's a months-long rite dictated from The Book of Abramelin to summon her guardian angel, full of psychical and mental tests without much of a break. And who better to lock yourself in a house with for a few months than Micheal, a not-so-former alcoholic downright Nasty ginger occultist who apparently has done the exact same ritual a couple of times before this.
The relationship between Sophia and Michael is one of the best parts of this movie and is always shifting. Therapist and patient, abuser and victim, even mentor and student, Even though on the whole of their relationship is undoubtedly toxic. The trials of this movie's ritual (and both of their erratic behaviour towards each other) allow the film to explore a damn near universal sense of fear. The fear of Having no idea if what you're doing, no matter how much time and energy you put into it, will ever work. The fear of being completely consumed by grief and vengeance. The fear of never being able to move on.
Needless to say, it's a kind of fear that really struck a chord with me personally, all presented in a beautiful slow-burn bouquet of black roses. As much as this movie can be hopeless, oppressive and overwhelming, you can still find hope in its ending.
I admit i didn't really get all the religious ideas and motifs thanks to a heathens upbringing, but God I can't wait till he makes another movie
10/10
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