A Dark Song / Liam Gavin (2016)
Don't BlinkLiam Gavin made something truly remarkable within the confines of a single isolated house. It's not exactly a Cabin in the Woods situation (see also: The Evil Dead, but the tension is there.
Sophia Howard (Catherine Walker), grieving the murder of her young son, hires the abrasive occultist Joseph Solomon (Steve Oram) to guide her through a months-long Abramelin ritual in an isolated Welsh house. The dangerous rite promises contact with her guardian angel, but demands absolute commitment and endurance through a series of physical and psychological ordeals. And also, hard work. As the ritual progresses over days, weeks and months, tensions rise between the two as Sophia gets more frustrated with the progress. Unlike The Evil Dead, leaving the house is not an option. Joseph makes that clear at the outset. We're locked in.
The Evil Dead is a terrible comp for A Dark Song, they are opposites in nearly every way. This film is methodical, careful and feels researched throughout. The ritual here is not presented as the standard hocum of many "other side" films. Instead, Sophia spends most of the run time scrubbing floors, washing herself, preparing ritual spaces, performing prayers, and maintaining the isolated house while days and seasons pass outside the windows. The effect is one of attrition rather than escalation. The ritual is presented as tedious, exhausting, and monotonous for long stretches. Sophia, and viewers, are left to ask, "Is all of this necessary?" Joseph's answer: Yes. The details are laid bare for viewers, and they are essential, according to Joseph.
In the house, the two seem mostly grounded in the work. There are signs that reality is shifting around the boundary they've drawn around themselves in salt. Cinematographer Cathal Watters does amazing work making the house feel claustrophobic, while allowing glimpses of the outside world and subtle shifts happening to and around or protagonists that they don't seem to be aware of.
A Dark Song depiction's of ritual is plodding, but in no way dull. Gavin is in no hurry to tell the story and his patience pays off. For much of the film, it's not evident that Joseph is anything but a charlatan. He speaks with the arrogant confidence of the Comic Book Guy from The Simpson's, even as he commands Sohpie to drink blood and take off her jeans for a sex ritual, that seems to a bit of a surprise, even to him. Eventually, it becomes clear this film is not about the literal summoning of the angel. At points, it's not clear if the guardian angel will come or if it is even real. The film is about Sophia working through the stages of grief. There's no clunky exposition to tell us that, but the feeling washes over the film.
"For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." - Psalm 91
The chemistry between these two–better described as exothermic–is perfect as two people stuck in a situation with no clear end. Sophia is committed, but grows more resentful with each passing day. Joseph knows the ritual, but even he isn't certain of the timing and order of things. He's cocky, but getting frazzled, as he tries to summon the angel.
Finally, he confronts Sophia. He suspects the ritual is not working because she is holding back some critical information. In a charged turn, she reveals her true intention, turning the ritual on its head and changing its meaning entirely. Their relationship shifts from hostility to reluctant understanding as supernatural events intensify. She learns she cannot leave until the ritual has been completed. Sophia must complete the ritual alone, confronting terrifying manifestations and demonic torment. In the film's climactic revelation, she finally abandons vengeance and asks her angel not for retribution, but for the ability to forgive, emerging transformed by grief, suffering, and grace.
We're waiting for terror, and are given forgiveness. It is totally satisfying. If you expected Rob Zombie pacing and gore, you're going to hate this. Or at least have a long road to enjoying it. A Dark Song is surprisingly cathartic. The detail and specificity of the rituals is intense and in someways a misdirection. In the end, Sophia faces the subject of her ritual, but the real showdown is with herself.
Key scene
Spoilers below.
After Solomon dies and the ritual appears to have collapsed, Sophia finally abandons the house and walks down an empty country road. Eventually she realizes she has somehow returned to the same house she just left. There is no explanation, no visual trick, and no dramatic reveal — only the terrifying realization that the ritual's rules were literal all along. The scene marks the transition from psychological ambiguity to undeniable supernatural reality. Many viewers cite it as the moment the film's dread becomes overwhelming.
Own it
My Letterboxd review