Tags:
Film: A Dark Song
Year: 2016
Director: Liam Gavin
Writer: Liam Gavin
Starring: Steve Oram, Catherine Walker and Susan Loughnane
Review:
This is a movie that went on a list early on when I got into podcasts. I’m sure that I’ve heard about it a few times, but do not remember specific shows. I’m now getting the chance to check it out as it was part of the Summer Challenge Series for the Podcast Under the Stairs when I was a member of the People’s Council. It was also quite lucky that the Gateway Film Center showed it so I got to see it there with my wife, Jaime. I’ve now given it a second watch to cover on the Average Podcast.
Synopsis: 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.
For this movie, we start with Sophia (Catherine Walker) going out to see a house in the country. She asks specific questions and the realtor seems a bit confused. She decides that the place fits what she needs. It costs her quite a bit, but she does get it into contract.
She then meets Joseph Solomon (Steve Oram). He is the occultist from the synopsis. She is trying to hire him to help her perform a ritual. She goes through everything that she has been doing to prepare her body for it. He seems leery but agrees to see the house. It is there he asks her a particular question and her answer causes him to decline helping. She tells him she wants to do this ritual for love. It is at the train station that she reveals the real reason and he changes his mind. He stresses that she needs to tell him the truth.
They gather supplies and we get an interesting interaction. Sophia hears a child crying and she sees a woman changing a child on the pavement of a parking lot. This woman looks to be the one haunting her dreams as well as the child looking like her deceased son. Sophia is then spooked by her sister, Victoria (Susan Loughnane), when she comes up behind her. Through their talk, we know that Sophia spent time in a hospital due to her mental state from grief.
Joseph and Sophia go to the house. He surrounds it with a circle of salt and when he gets to the door, she has one last chance to call it off. If not, once they start, they must see it to the end. It is a grueling attempt that lasts months. There are frustrations and Joseph tells Sophia to do horrible things. This ritual is being done to see and hear her son one last time. She also reveals the reason for this as well, revenge. It will take everything they have to complete, and potentially survive, this ritual.
That will be where I’ll leave my recap for this movie. What works for me is how intimate it is and how serious they take what they’re doing. We have these two broken characters that need each other to get what they want. It will take a lot out of them to do so. There are also interesting ways to read this movie and as someone who loves social commentary, you have me hooked there.
Where I want to start is Sophia. The film skillfully reveals a character whose unreliability is clear from the start. Grieving the loss of her son, Jack (Nathan Vos), she spent time in a mental hospital. For the ritual with Joseph to succeed, her honesty is crucial, yet she repeatedly lies about her motives, endangering them both. There is an interesting element that Joseph brings up when he cuts his hand, then blames her. Walker's performance is effective as this struggling woman.
Let me then delve into the character of Joseph. He controls and knows the ritual, forcing Sophia to obey. He's paid but will also seek a favor from the guardian angel, mirroring Sophia's quest. As noted by Hope from Fright Club Podcast, his abuse of Sophia highlights her seeking an abusive relationship, which she endures due to the ritual. There is a subtle line that is said by a specter later that confirms this. He inflicts physical, social, and mental abuse, difficult to watch but rationalized by their goal. Oram's performance is excellent.
That will take me to the next thing I want to delve into which is taking these two characters and isolating them from everyone else. The house is in the country. There doesn’t seem to be neighbors nearby. Being isolated as they are, you could read in this movie that nothing truly happens. We get to see and hear things, but it could be both going crazy due to ritual and the toll it takes on them. This makes the movie better for me, that it could be supernatural or it could be grounded.
Now let’s assume there is something supernatural happening. The film meticulously depicts a lengthy, arduous ritual, realistically portraying the possibility of failure and the weeks or months it would take. Its deliberate, slow pace builds satisfying tension, resulting in an unnerving, atmospheric, yet uplifting experience rather than a scary one, which is something that I’ll give credit to. The clash of belief and reality is good.
The last parts of the story that I just want to bring up are other themes. There is an interesting element of the ritual where Sophia needs to forgive. She refuses so we’re seeing that she is still experiencing grief as well as anger. She needs to heal. There is also the cost of not telling truth, which could be Joseph’s way of control. Regardless, this ritual requires obsession to complete. It needs full buy-in, suffering and discipline. In the end it results in moral and spiritual purity, but that comes with a price.
I don’t have a lot more to say about the acting since this is really a two-person movie. Both Oram and Walker are great. I thought that Loughnane is solid in the information she provides. The rest of the cast works in support. The demons we see are creepy. There is something else that happens at the resolution that used to bother me. It felt cheesy. It is after this second watch that it doesn’t. Since this character is completely exhausted, I am forgiving as it could be a hallucination or their interpretation of what they expected to see.
The filmmaking excels in cinematography, effectively establishing the house's isolation and utilizing the full frame as the ritual progresses. Montages depict Sophia and Joseph's ordeal. While effects are minimal, the realistic blood and eerie demon depictions suffice. The film thrives on atmosphere, enhanced by a dread-inducing soundtrack and effective sound design that blurs the line between reality and illusion, adding a layer of distrust.
In conclusion, this is a compelling and intimate horror film that excels in its portrayal of two broken characters undertaking a grueling occult ritual. Liam Gavin's direction and writing, coupled with powerful performances from Walker and Oram, create a slow-burn narrative that skillfully balances supernatural dread with the possibility of psychological breakdown. The film delves into themes of grief, forgiveness, abuse, and obsession, all enhanced by masterful cinematography, sound design, and a pervasive atmosphere of unease. Its ambiguous ending, initially perceived as cheesy, now resonates as a fitting culmination of exhaustion and spiritual transformation, solidifying its place as a thought-provoking and deeply unsettling experience.
My Rating: 10 out of 10