We Summon the Darkness: Horror to get you into the Halloween Spirit

 With Halloween only a month away, now is a great time to start watching the latest horror movies. Originally released in April of 2020, due to Covid, this movie never made it to theaters. Now that it’s out on Netflix, it’s free for any subscriber of the streaming service. And you should take advantage of that. Why? Let’s find out. 

Even when this film exhibits certain horror movie tropes, the writing is nonetheless engaging. You get a good sense of who you think the characters are early on, and the writers are talented at providing subtle hints towards the greater theme. Even if the dialogue isn’t always riveting, it’s still able to capture the audience’s attention and keeps you wanting to know what happens next. You get a glimpse into all of these characters’ backstories, yet there’s never a reliance on flashback. 

I wasn’t expecting the twist. I started off thinking it was just going to be a slasher with a Christian undertone, but that was not the case. This next part is a spoiler, so if you don’t like spoilers, skip to the next paragraph. The twist is that the girls, despite wearing satanic symbols and listening to heavy metal, are super Christian. Their plan is to kill the boys. The film gets deep when discussing the problems of Christianity, including mentioning the indoctrination of young people into a faith with a lot of issues and the role of money in the church. 

There are some pretty tense moments. There were a lot of creative ways in which characters were able to manipulate their surroundings, which made for engaging scenes. For example, there was one scene where the antagonists were trying to get the protagonists out of a locked room, and they ended up spraying chemicals in the space under the door in order to try and get them out. I’ve never seen that in a movie before. 

Unfortunately, you can tell they ran out of cash a bit towards the movie’s end. The film’s overall decent in terms of cinematography, but there are some jaunting shots during the climax. It’s not enough to make you hate what you’re watching, but it’s not ideal. Also, there are a few details that are brought up earlier and never brought up again. Again, they don’t ruin your enjoyment, but it’s something to watch out for. 

If the reasons above weren’t enough to make you want to see this movie, there’s also Jackass star Johnny Knoxville playing a serious character. And he’s good. I know this isn’t the first time he’s been in a dramatic film, but it’s an interesting sight nonetheless.