A Dark Song

slow burn, art house horror. not traditionally scary, but a really mesmerizing look at the occult. some viewers found this boring, or slow. they want an easy movie. if you're in the mood for something more nuanced and atmospheric, give this a go. the characters are well developed despite minimal dialogue (thank you, Liam Gavin, for good writing), and the overall texture is rich. Isolation and demented grief are packaged nicely with unsettling imagery: sacred geometry, blood sacrifice, and of course the perfect dark house. plus: the music is haunting and gorgeous, a perfect accompaniment to the movie. I wish there was an hour long soundtrack. I would buy it.

Masterful suspense. I spent the first hour wondering if this was a psychological/crime thriller masquerading as horror. By the end I was holding my breath. Surreal moments, a deft control of some agonizingly long tensions, solid acting, a beautiful backdrop, and one of the better sound tracks I've heard.

The writer/director is all over the place here. He seems to have little to no idea what his central thesis is. The even bigger problem is that he uses very real elements out of place to tell tell some sick lies that weaker minds are just bound to believe and emulate. Also what would have been wrong with having something, anything, just one thing maybe be likeable about these characters? The theme was spiritual warfare and done well, that could have been brilliant! The writer here went in the opposite direction, destroying his subjects for no discernible reason! For some this is a a complete waste of time. Alas, for still others a really ugly lie that I couldn't even be called entertainment.