A Dark Song(Review) - Gruesome Gazette

Occult horror films are a different breed, and A Dark Song is definitely a visual masterpiece. It’s very much a slow burn and gives one much to process during its run time.

The plot is about a woman who enlists an occultist to help her through a ritual to get vengeance on her son’s killers.
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The movie shows us the interactions between the woman and the man. And he is bit of an asshole to her for no reason. There are times she deserves it for example when she keeps lying to him of the purpose of the ritual. Otherwise he spends most of the time belittling her and at one point completely humiliates her.

At first the woman doubts anything is happening but eventually she gets signs what they are doing is starting to work. But it’s not working fast enough causing her and the man to get into screaming match. Then the man suffers an unfortunate accident, even admitted this is even because of all the hurt he caused her.

This movie is going to take it time creeping and crawling to its eventual reveal. There are scenes of dead silence or screeching violins driving up the tension and terror of the moment. What you see at the end is something so ethereal and the woman ultimately makes a choice she did not expect to make.

I enjoyed this because of the presentation along with the visuals. It’s about the atmosphere so even if it seems nothing is happening, at the same time the moments are deeper than they appear. The interaction between the woman and the man flow naturally. You come to understand they aren’t there to be friends, they realize they are just in this together working to complete the ritual. He is getting a ton amount of money for it. even though he says its not about the money that ultimately is what convinces him to help her.

If you enjoy occult horror I can’t recommend this one enough. It’s different with the way we are guided through the parts of the ritual. It is currently streaming on Shudder if you want to check it out.

If you already seen A Dark Song, what did you think of it? Let us know in the comments below!

Till next time, stay scared!
-Tha Thrilla-