"A Dark Song" is already being praised as one of the best horror films of 2017. I loved it.Ī determined young woman and a damaged occultist risk their lives and souls to perform a dangerous ritual that will grant them what they want. On the whole, one of the better horror/supernatural movies of 2017 so far. The ending seems a bit clichéd, but was saved from being corny by illustrating the power of forgiveness over revenge, and good over evil. The film is subtle in its suspense and horror, with a nice slow build and some really creepy effects. ![]() There's one really funny moment where they both share their recurring dreams. I liked the dynamic between the woman and occultist, the loathing and disrespect, the sharing and mutual need. She realises, at the 11th hour, that revenge and hatred offer nothing but pain and emptiness, and that forgiveness, both for her son's killers and herself, is what she really needs to find any peace. This woman, who so craves revenge, is on her own personal spiritual journey. But if you have any understanding of the supernatural, and this movie has been meticulously researched, you'd realise that the real horror lies in fear and what happens in your head. ![]() There have been reviews that bang on about how slow this movie is, and it's lack of pace and excitement. According legend,he never banished the demons he had summoned, leading to strange happenings occurring in and around Boleskine House. Crowley was in the process of performing the lengthy ritual, when he was called to Paris by the leader of the Golden Dawn. However, it also includes the summoning of the 12 Kings and Dukes of Hell, to bind them and remove their negative influences from the magician's life. The ritual allegedly requires at least 6 months of preparation, celibacy and abstinence from alcohol. It's clearly influenced by the "Bornless Ritual", an invocation used by Aleister Crowley to summon his Holy Guardian Angel and the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage which Crowley attempted at Boleskin House on the shores of Loch Ness. A young mother whose son had been murdered, seeks revenge on his killers via a magic ritual invoking angels. This is a study of the old chestnut, 'Be careful what you wish for'. It makes such a change to get a supernatural movie that makes the viewer use their imagination, rather than bombarding them with CGI and men in rubber suits. 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. That is to say, lock yourself in, don't leave your seat, and, whatever happens, do not break the circle of salt. 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. The end result is something about as distant from the dozens of currently popular "found footage" films. ![]() 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. ![]() 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). 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. Autopsy of Jane Doe is merely a solid and workmanlike exposition of a clever, entertaining, theme. 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. For starters, I will suggest that the best (and most recent) analog I can name is the excellent 2016 Autopsy of Jane Doe. or not? It is projects like Dark Song, however, that make such a simple ambition seem ever so complex. 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.
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