Jaden Jordan
- Aug 13, 2021
- 2 min read

We Summon The Darkness (2019)

The Breakdown: When three friends head to a metal concert in an area that's been plagued by ritualistic satanic murders, they find themselves slotted to be the next victims.

Watch If: You're a big fan of the Satanic Panic era.

Not If: You're hoping for the punk-metal rock-and-roll tone that the trailer suggests.

SECONDARY FACTS

Overall Rating: 2.6

Length: 1:31

Country: UK/USA/Canada

Language: English

Gore Factor: 1.5/5

REVIEW

THE QUICK AND DIRTY

While on paper the idea of this film is certainly compelling, We Summon The Darkness is an hour and a half of waiting for something to happen. The start is quick, and the end is quick, and nothing important happens in the middle.

PREMISE: 4

I am always a fan of horror films that invert expectations, and I am always here for a bit of Satanic Panic action. The idea is fresh and fun, and it hurts me that more wasn't done with such a fun premise.

ACTING: 3

Confession time: There were a few times in the beginning that I thought the actors were just doing a terrible job, but it turned out they were doing a fine job of playing characters who were bad at lying. So there's that. The acting overall was fine, if a bit low energy in some cases.

AUDIO AND VISUALS: 2

Someone decided that it was a good idea to space out the action as much as possible, and then made the action scenes impossible to see. Between the super dark shots and the literally cuts away from the focus objects, the cinematography takes any payoff or visual captivation this film might have had, and dilutes it into a frustrating, vague catalogue of happenings that's just boring.

ATMOSPHERE: 2

Lukewarm. That's the best description of this film. They came out of the gate strong with a high-energy, inversion set up, but that momentum hits a brick wall pretty much as soon as the plot starts. The implied punk-metal tone is nonexistent, as is any action. The entire film is a ramp-up to nothing. There's no real tension, no way to connect with or root for the characters in any way other than a surface level. It's lukewarm at best.

DELIVERY: 2

It starts out fun, but nothing happens and the viewers are pretty quickly turned into a passive audience, only waiting for the actual story to take off. The Veneer of 80's metal and Satanic Panic is so loosely applied that the film has to go out of its way to remind you, multiple times, that this doesn't take place in the present day. The only interesting thing about this film is the premise that runs through it, and the perpetual application of horror trope inversion. I just wish it had been more than a missed opportunity.