The Horror Show
A Dark Song
by Liam Gavin
Irish director Liam Gavin makes his first feature debut with A Dark Song; a moody, intense thriller that manages to marry the heavily depicted battle between good and evil in a refreshingly well-thought manner.
The story takes us to the Welsh countryside, where Gavin’s protagonist Sophia (Catherine Walker) rents a neglected property; the sole movie setting that sets the tone for a dramatic and atmospheric narrative. Sophia’s decision to pay a great deal of money for the remote house is not random, as we swiftly see her hire an occultist, Joseph (Steve Oram), to guide her through a menacing ritual that will eventually allow her to contact her dead son. Or will it?
Up until the closing scenes, Gavin makes sure to keep us on the edge of our seats, dropping teasing hints that the ritual could actually be a well-crafted scam by Joseph or even a hallucination inside Sophia’s unstable mind.
Since A Dark Song is, in essence, a supernatural thriller toying with the overused ideas of séances and the afterlife, the presence of eerie apparitions roaming around the creaking, gloomy house couldn’t be absent. And of course, the two primary characters do invite evil entities into the house, however, we see that Gavin innovates the right amount in order to stand out from other similar flicks.
At the end of the day, it is an intentional choice and part of a bigger plan to contact the dead and perform this black magic ritual. The reasons behind are slowly and skillfully revealed with a rather methodical and escalating unease.
Of course, Gavin’s first feature is not the indelible gem of the year, however, it is powerful enough to win a place on your ‘to-see’ list. Blending witchcraft and the bleak concepts of isolation, paranoia and sorcery, A Dark Song is a supernatural horror that is certainly worth a watch.
Maria Kriva, HMS
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