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Night 1: A Dark Song | 13 Nights of Halloween
19 Plays1 month ago
🎃👻 Welcome to the FINAL season premiere of The 13 Nights of Halloween! 👻🎃 We’re opening our last haunting journey with A Dark Song (2016), one of the most chilling modern entries in the folk horror canon. This Irish indie gem blends grief, ritual, and the occult in a story about a mother so desperate she’s willing to undergo a months-long magical operation to summon her guardian angel. But once you open the door to the other side… you can’t control what steps through. Joining us tonight is David from @journeywithacinephile, bringing his deep love and insight into horror to help us unpack the ritual, the isolation, and the devastating emotional core of this film. 🔥 Why this episode matters: • Kicks off the final 13 Nights of Halloween in style • Highlights one of the most underseen modern folk horror films • Breaks down trivia and behind-the-scenes info, including the REAL occult ritual that inspired the story • Sets the tone for a season dedicated to pagan imagery, isolation, cults, and cosmic dread 📚 Want even more horror in your life? Check out Tim’s novel Like, Comment, Survive — a terrifying dive into found footage chills and YouTube ghost hunter vibes, perfect for spooky season 👉 📚 Want more horror? Check out our books on Amazon: 👉 https://a.co/d/bUtniBd 🎧 Check out our friends at Zencastr and get 30% off your first 3 months of Zencastr Pro: 👉 https://zen.ai/theaveragereviews 📖 Enjoy $5.00 off your first purchase when you use Tim Umpleby’s code “TIMOTHYREADS” at checkout: 👉 https://pangobooks.com/TIMOTHYREADS 🔔 Don’t forget to LIKE this video, COMMENT your score for A Dark Song, and SUBSCRIBE for more horror deep dives. It’s our final 13 Nights of Halloween — let’s make it one to remember. #ADarkSong #13NightsOfHalloween #FolkHorror #TheAverageReviews #HorrorPodcast
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Transcript
Introduction to the Final Season
00:00:31
Speaker
Welcome back, horror family. It's bittersweet to say this, but you found us at the beginning of the final season of the 13 nights of Halloween. I'm Jonathan.
00:00:42
Speaker
And I'm Tim. For a couple years now, we've been taking this journey with you through slashers, haunted houses, cult classics, cursed woods, the whole deal.
Exploring Folk Horror
00:00:52
Speaker
But this season, we're putting a dark little bow on the series before shifting our attention full time to the dread broadcast.
00:01:04
Speaker
And if we're going out, you know we're going out right. This year's theme is folk horror, films that tap into isolation, ritual, and old world fears that refuse to stay buried. From fields and forests to gods and demons, it's the genre that asks, what happens when tradition turns terrifying?
Guest Expert David on 'A Dark Song'
00:01:21
Speaker
Tonight we're kicking it off with one of the most unsettling modern entries in the canon, A Dark Song, a 2016 Irish indie directed by Liam Gavin.
00:01:33
Speaker
And we're not going alone. Joining us tonight is David from Journey with a Cinephile, a friend of the show, a true student of the genre, and the perfect guide as we open the ritual circle.
00:01:47
Speaker
Yes, thank you so much. Yeah, glad to have you back with us, David.
Film Summary and Themes
00:01:53
Speaker
So if you haven't seen it, a dark song is about a grieving mother, Sophia, who hires an occultist to lead her through a months long ritual meant to summon her guardian angel.
00:02:04
Speaker
It's long, grueling and requires absolute dedication. And of course, once you open that door, something else might come through. A fun piece of trivia, Liam Gavin wrote the script in just three weeks, but it took you years to get funding.
00:02:23
Speaker
When it finally did, he stuck closely to the real-life ritual that inspired the story. This ritual is known as the Abramelin Operation, a ceremonial magic rite that dates back to the 15th century.
00:02:38
Speaker
Some magicians claim it can take six months to complete, which means Yeah, you're basically locked away in isolation, breaking yourself down spiritually to call on higher beings.
00:02:51
Speaker
And that's where it fits so beautifully into the folk horror lineage. Isolation in a countryside manner, the clash between faith and the occult, the thin line between desperation and damnation.
00:03:02
Speaker
It's all here. This isn't just horror in the woods, it's horror in the soul. We've got grief, ritual, demons, angels, and David to help us sort it all out.
Jonathan's Take on Folk Horror
00:03:15
Speaker
So light your candles, draw your circles, and don't you dare step outside of the lines. This is a dark song. So I'll be this is the first episode of our 13 nights of Halloween series. i have to come out now and tell you folk horror is not my jam.
00:03:37
Speaker
It is not my favorite. i respect many of the titles. I enjoy fewer of the titles.
00:03:48
Speaker
So this this is a weird one. It is a weird one for us to kind of do the last 13 nights of Halloween on. But this was voted on Instagram by our faithful seven people.
00:04:00
Speaker
And this is what they chose. so so this is what we're doing. i So we'll kick it off the story of this film. I'll break it down and then you guys can tear it apart and dive into what you like or don't like about it.
Sophia's Real Motives
00:04:15
Speaker
But the ah dark song unfolds in rural Wales where Sophia Howard, a grief stricken or she's grief stricken over the death of her young son.
00:04:26
Speaker
He was, we gradually learned, kidnapped and murdered by teenagers performing a black magic ritual. She hires Joseph Solomon, a reclusive occultist, to guide her through the demanding Book of Abramelin-style ritual.
00:04:41
Speaker
Their goal is to summon her guardian angel who can either grant a reunion or she hopes vengeance. The ritual requires months of isolation, intense purification, both physically, mentally, and spiritually, and strict adherence to rules.
00:04:59
Speaker
Once begun, they cannot leave the house without dire consequences. Over time, Sophia's hidden motives that she is not just desiring to speak to her son again, but actually wanting to ask for revenge on the kids who did this.
00:05:19
Speaker
Those motives surface, threatening the ritual and their lives. Eventually, the supernatural starts to happen. ah Demons, angels, physical pain, possession, adjacent stuff.
Rituals and Horror Experience
00:05:31
Speaker
And we end up with an ending that I did not see coming in all honesty. So that's that's the breakdown of the story. Guys, what what did we think here? Jump in on this.
00:05:47
Speaker
Go ahead, David, you're our guest. um Yeah, I mean, I guess the biggest thing for me that This one's kind of interesting that is technically full core because, I mean, there are elements, of course, of like Christianity and almost like the darker take of doing some of those type of things.
00:06:05
Speaker
But what I think I love the most about this is a movie that normally when you have a ritual, it's usually kind of pretty easy and we see how it like just affects everybody. I love that this one's so grueling and you don't know if it's even working. for most of this movie, because I mean, there's a good stretch where it could literally just be, oh, no, because like Joseph is like, oh, I cut myself because you lied to me.
00:06:27
Speaker
And then they just kind of keep going about everything. And she starts getting more and more frustrated where I love that kind of roller coaster of emotions she goes through where she's like, believes him that things are starting to work. But then because something major doesn't happen, then she starts to kind of fall back in that I don't believe things are happening here. So just seeing a ritual be so difficult to do is kind of different take on that type of like premise.
00:06:55
Speaker
Right on, man. um For me, man, just like the the strict get dedication that's required to get through this and then the steps taken to course correct once she finally comes clean about her true intentions.
00:07:12
Speaker
Wow, man, it's pretty out there. And for a guy who is a recluse and who, I guess, for what he said, you know wants to just be invisible, to disappear from everything.
00:07:25
Speaker
Relatable. yeah right And just his pursuit of knowledge and like, he's like, he's like, oh, I've done it three times. It worked twice, but it didn't one time because, you know, her her they weren't pure with what they were doing.
Character Dynamics in 'A Dark Song'
00:07:39
Speaker
You know, and as you see things progress and the little steps taken and the things that happen here and there makes you wonder whether the isolation is getting to you and causing them or her Sophia specifically to to see or imagine things or if something is actually happening or not.
00:07:59
Speaker
it's It's so hard to tell in certain parts, man. And I love that you just don't know for sure. And things really start to kick in at the end. That was pretty cool. yeah as far as the story goes this is one of the most original stories that i've ever seen especially in the genre the way the i think ultimately it's to its detriment uh that the story takes most of its time talking about the ritual first and like the characters almost take back seat to it
00:08:35
Speaker
And then like the characters are good. I like the characters here, but I've never seen a movie spend one hour and 40 minutes on a ritual basically. Like it is like David said at the beginning, it is not, hey, let's draw these lines, chant holding hands, and then we summon the demon. It is like this takes six months and it sucks every bit of it, so it better be worth it.
00:09:01
Speaker
I think that is wholly original and I've never seen anything like it. So do we have, are we ready to jump in on the scores or is that?
00:09:12
Speaker
ah Sure. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So as far as the originality goes, I have to give this a five. This is wholly unique in my book. I have never seen anything like it.
00:09:25
Speaker
I can't think of anything off the top of my head that is anything like this movie. It is very different.
00:09:36
Speaker
For me, I was almost at that point. But I mean, I've seen other
Originality and Focus on Ritual
00:09:41
Speaker
stuff where there's occ cultist action and ritual stuff, maybe just not to this extent, but still the depth of it and all the preparation leading up to the end result.
00:09:52
Speaker
Man, it's that pretty heavy for me. And so I feel like this is very, very worthy of a four almost five. Yeah, I was kind of faltering like you were actually Jonathan, where i was like, I don't know if I wanted to go for because it is very repetitive, even though we kind of see different parts of the ritual, because there is so much that goes into it, I end up kind of falling in the middle. So I end up given, you know, the round up to the five for it, just because of it being so different. And just how like, just seeing how grueling it is on them that I still kind of gave it credit for giving it that five.
00:10:32
Speaker
Right on. Okay. Awesome. right. So then we can dive into the characters a little bit. We only have two this movie.
00:10:43
Speaker
we We have a realtor at the beginning who really doesn't matter at all. ah The unmentioned son or the frequently mentioned son, but never really seen outside of dreams.
00:10:56
Speaker
But really, we just have the two main characters. So our characters are Sophia Howard. What was there a sister towards the beginning? Oh, yeah, you're right. You're right.
00:11:08
Speaker
There was. But we have Sophia, who is her sister, but she begins as this purpose-filled mother determined to contact her son, so we're told.
00:11:21
Speaker
ah But her arc is kind of just about obsession, doubt. She hides her real motives throughout. we I wish we got more of her suffering a little bit, but it's also... You could also take she's a...
00:11:40
Speaker
bitter person now because of what happened and that is in itself a form of suffering so her ultimate arc spoilers here the movie's been out for nine years so um the spoiler here is what caught me by surprise is at the end after this quest for vengeance really she the gift she wants from her guardian angel is the ability to forgive to forgive the kids that did this.
00:12:09
Speaker
And that caught me totally by surprise. Oh yeah. Right. i I, was a little bit like, again, it's something that makes this movie extremely unique to me. I think it's a very powerful that story that she goes to the depths, literally to the demons pulling her into the basement.
00:12:34
Speaker
at the end and she comes out of all of this going, i want to forgive these kids. And at the beginning of the movie, she is adamant that she doesn't do forgiveness.
00:12:46
Speaker
So I I love this for her. I love this element of the story. It's one of those few movies that's like it feels terrible the entire time you're watching it.
00:12:58
Speaker
Like it's not a comfortable watch at all. But then the ending is actually like, oh, It's kind of a happy ending. I don't know that I want to do this right again, and it was a happy ending.
00:13:13
Speaker
Okay. So, yeah, man, that was that was like the biggest surprise, you know, especially when they're going through the ritual and he's asking, and so Joseph's like, hey, how are you, you know, forgiveness being part of the ritual and her being so adamant and forceful about not doing anything like that.
00:13:30
Speaker
But man, Joseph himself, though, Like his ah sense of dedication and not wanting to break the ceremony with her doubts and not wanting her ready to leave and him was stressing so hard.
00:13:45
Speaker
We cannot stop this, otherwise you'll damn us both. And Joseph himself losing out in the end, dying from his wound because of her not being forthright about what she truly wanted.
00:13:58
Speaker
Man, it felt so bad for him. Yeah, he was kind of a dick, although it was partly out of necessity, um although a bit of a creeper with the part where he makes her you know undress. Yeah, tur you know but let's talk about that because that is a huge scene in the film, but it is also a sign of his devotion to the ritual because he kind of says he doesn't explain it super well, but basically like he had become attracted to her through their time together and his thoughts were no longer pure. He could not continue the ritual.
00:14:34
Speaker
is He basically explains that to her It doesn't justify what he does. no Yeah. But he explains that like for the sake of the ritual, he had to purify himself and go through that in order to continue because his thoughts were no longer pure.
00:14:50
Speaker
And so he had to act on him. And I don't know that that is necessarily the way to go about doing it, but he's the occultist, not me. So who that is like, I think that is a very well, it's horrible. There's also so many layers in that scene itself that it's not just exploitation.
00:15:10
Speaker
There's also his devotion to getting the ritual correct, as well as for him exploiting her in the process. It also just opens up so many layers of how much has he lied to her about that? Like, you got to do this and she doesn't need to.
00:15:27
Speaker
Right. I'm glad you brought up that scene. There's so much to it.
00:15:33
Speaker
Yeah, I didn't even think about that extra layer to it. And that because like when you're just kind of watching it as it's happening, it clearly is him exploiting like the power dynamic because he knows the ritual. So like he makes you think that that has to like has to happen because that's like the next step.
00:15:52
Speaker
But that is actually kind of interesting that yeah, he needed to purify himself again because up to that point they started to get close where they were like getting along. They were having like like laughing with each other and everything like that. Yeah, that adds something that I didn't even consider there.
00:16:07
Speaker
Yeah, it's messed up too, because like even in the beginning, he's talking about how she needed to be pure. And it was talking about, you know, all this different stuff and being sexually pure. And then you get to this part and she assumes that sex is required as part of the ritual.
00:16:22
Speaker
And he's like, I'm just a man, blahh blah, blah, blah. You know, and she gets so pissed off when she's willing to see what she was really willing to have sex. because of it and only to find out that he's they're actually not going to have sex. He's just going to jerk it.
00:16:34
Speaker
And then she gets pissed off about it. And I think maybe there was some sense of feeling that she was having maybe to him in some kind of weird, God, what's the term for it?
00:16:46
Speaker
When like you, you have feelings for your captor. Oh, like Stockholm syndrome. Yeah. Kind of like a Stockholm syndrome kind of thing almost. But then it's like, she yeah like She was ready for this, and it gets bitter when it's just him jerking it.
00:17:00
Speaker
And he's like, are you? It's like, the hell with you. I'm giving you what you want. you know yeah Sacrifices need to be made. It's kind of a weird dynamic, and it's so skewed back and forth on either side. Man, that scene, I was just like, what the hell, dude?
00:17:13
Speaker
Holy shit. When he tells her put makeup on, so rude. Like, he's not an unattractive woman. No, not an unattractive woman.
00:17:24
Speaker
He's like, put makeup on. I'm just a man. Like, what? Asshole. But yeah, it's but still overall for him, though, it's like, even with what he wanted, it's like, yeah, you disappeared now because now you're dead.
00:17:38
Speaker
Yeah. So it's a sad kind of arc for him. You know, especially towards his end where he's laying there and you can tell you you've seen the scene where he's got the the pus seepage from the wall. It's not healing well.
00:17:49
Speaker
He's rough you turning to shit and she's just there trying to comfort him in the bed. And the next morning, boom, he's gone. And then here she is having to figure out. And it's so sad. And then like that part where, you know, once her true intentions come to light and having to course correct with him holding her down in the tub.
00:18:09
Speaker
doing the reciting, the three dips, and then holding her under and having to revive her. Man, that's it's
Challenges of the Ritual
00:18:15
Speaker
brutal. And like that sense of correction for, i guess, I'm not sure if that was supposed to be for like a spiritual or mental purification, but damn, it's brutal having to go through that, almost dying, then coming back and then starting to try to figure out how to finish this ritual. that's brutal.
00:18:31
Speaker
That was because she had lied to him. Again. I think that was, she had lied about ah her real motive. And so he had to cleanse her by like killing her and bringing her back to life. That scene was jarring.
00:18:47
Speaker
Yeah, because what he says there that she like touches the cosmos or whatever because of having died. So like it's almost like entering heaven and then being pulled back from it or like whatever the like spiritual thing behind that is. So that's yeah, it's quite interesting to actually kind of think about a way to purify somebody would be.
00:19:06
Speaker
you know, letting them get that close to actual death and then reviving them.
Sophia's Character Growth
00:19:13
Speaker
Right. And then it's a true fresh start. Yeah. Right. But then man, like towards that end, though, once he's dead, and she she kind of breaks that circle, and feel that sense of damnation and being pulled in that basement, like she's being pulled into hell, and then seeing how terrible it would be for her to damn those other kids.
00:19:31
Speaker
And realizing like, okay, this, this isn't the best path. This isn't the best way to go about this. Man, there's I didn't even realize. What?
00:19:44
Speaker
Oh, did he freeze? Looks like he at the moment. That was like a really weird perfect moment to freeze like. Oh, fuck
00:19:53
Speaker
oh man.
00:19:56
Speaker
Oh, boy. What happened to him? Oh, am I back now? Yeah. yeah oh's looking frozen I didn't even realize. um didn't even realize until you just said it that.
00:20:08
Speaker
Oh, he swiped the tablet. He swiped the tablet.
00:20:13
Speaker
You swiped the tablet, didn't you? No, that was my Internet must be cutting out. Sorry, guys. um
00:20:22
Speaker
ah For the third time, I didn't even realize until you said it that it was her going to hell and seeing what those kids would go through that made her realize she didn't want revenge. And you just said that. And I was like, oh, yeah. Yeah. Okay.
00:20:40
Speaker
That makes sense. That makes sense. So, yes, there's a sense of it's dark, but you got to plot her for that sense of growth. Yeah. Even though how she went about growing in that way, it was just damn.
00:20:52
Speaker
Ooh, I also do feel bad for Joseph when he when they're talking about what they would get for like seeing the guardian angel and him saying how he just wants to disappear.
00:21:03
Speaker
Like that actually does a lot to humanize him for me. Because like, I'm just like reflecting on like, man, like, if you've done this ritual three times, and only succeeded once just the amount of grueling this that would go into actually like, putting your body through that, and then hearing him say, like, I just want to disappear.
00:21:22
Speaker
so nobody can see me and I can just live my life. Like we had said, like a hermit. Like that was made me go, man, like this guy has some stuff that he's like gone through that he would feel that way. Well, yeah, for many failed attempts, you know, after writing, he knows and everything he's seen. I don't want to have to go through any of this again. Like, okay, understandable, dude. Right.
00:21:43
Speaker
Understandable. So it does make me a question. He succeeded once. So what did he ask for at that time? Oh, Yeah, and I did wonder that, but kind of lost it. Yeah.
00:21:55
Speaker
Last night. So what did was the first time just kind of his like, let's see if this works. And he asked for something ridiculous. stupid Yeah. Yeah. Like itd it'd be this is one note that I have later. Like this movie is devoid of humor, really.
00:22:11
Speaker
But like if we saw him driving like a super expensive car at the beginning and it'd be like, oh, yeah, that's is just a hint that like he asked for that, and you know, right? but as far as character arcs go i have to give this a four i think both of them have really great and compelling character arcs i i think too much of the story is focused on the ritual and it eventually detracts from some of their story but there's enough there that i can easily say that their arc is great but too much of the ritual keeps it from being a five
00:22:47
Speaker
That's a fair assessment. I am also sitting at a four on that. Yep, that's kind of what I had as well, just because of it flirts with, I think if they would have done a little bit more with Joseph with his character arcs, I mean, if it was going to be just Sophia's, I probably would have went five, just because we do kind of see that complete character transformation from where she is in the beginning to what she does at the end.
00:23:11
Speaker
But because he's kind of more there's like a facilitator. we get a little bit of the human emotion, so I can't go lower. So that's where it you know kind of gets me under that for. OK.
00:23:23
Speaker
So on to the next one, which is the music and sound design. So this is this is slightly different ah for this film.
00:23:34
Speaker
Well, I say that for every film.
Sound Design and Atmosphere
00:23:36
Speaker
ah The score is by Ray Harmon, but it's super spare. He focuses kind of on atmosphere and lots of silence kind of leaning into the ambient sound of this isolated house.
00:23:53
Speaker
The external noises such as birds and dogs play as much a part in setting the story as physically seeing things does.
00:24:05
Speaker
So the sound design is a major role from the noises. We hear kind of haunted house sounds that build throughout the movie.
00:24:17
Speaker
But and then like the major sound design is hearing her ah son's voice and the chilling moment of ah demon basically saying like, I'm just possessing the voice. I'm not actually your son is kind of one of the more unsettling moments of the film.
00:24:35
Speaker
But it's all it's all the sound design, but it's super restrained. This movie is super restrained when it comes to sound design. You got to love how the things that you can hear but not see are as terrifying as the thing that you can see.
00:24:52
Speaker
And I love how they really played on that. And despite how sparse it is, just hearing those as odd little sounds, the the walking shadows, you know, this and that, that makes you wonder what was just there looking around, you know, think they really use that to great effect.
00:25:10
Speaker
kind of hard to really not appreciate that. And yeah, normally with any kind of movie, I appreciate a good soundtrack. But this isn't one of those things where you need anything like that. Right. Yeah, cause I do appreciate when they're doing more like the montage and a little bit of the rituals, how you'll kind of get just like that, like steady drum and you'll have a little bit of music that'll kind of go along with it just to kind of help build it there.
00:25:33
Speaker
And I mean, another one with the sound design that's also because mean, you guys both brought up great ones. cause i was thinking of the one with the demon say how he's like, yeah I'm just using your son's voice like that sent just a chill down my spine.
00:25:44
Speaker
I also really like the one when they're kind of early on and you hear she hears like the like knocking underneath the floor and he's like, oh, yeah, no, that's like we need to we need to finish this circle now. Like they're like they're trying to come up through the floor.
00:25:57
Speaker
And she's like, is that what that is? And then it like gets even louder is just like makes me like sit up to be like, no, no, start doing the ritual again. Like, what like, stop wasting time right now. Yeah. It makes you think all hell is about to break loose if they don't get things done. Yeah. Right. She's like, oh, what?
00:26:16
Speaker
No, definitely great points. I don't have much more to say for music and sound design, except it's used really well in this film. It is. I'm a four on this one as well. And more for sound design than music. The music itself, it almost is the strings. I almost feel like I've heard them before in similar films.
00:26:35
Speaker
But the sound design and the way it is incorporated directly into the story and the progression of the plot. is, i think unique. So that's why I give it a great four. Right on. ah For me, i'm I'm at a three.
00:26:52
Speaker
okay Okay. I came in with a five just because of how well they could scare me with building that atmosphere and then hearing in the like, voices and how that's even more terrifying, i think than some of the stuff when we're actually seeing like the hell and all the demons and whatnot.
00:27:08
Speaker
So yeah, I have to give it credit for that. I have to say I was disappointed by hell and the demons. So we'll get it. So quick. Yeah. Well, and I was like, is this like a cannibal tribe that's living in the basements of Wales? Like it just, it wasn't connecting with me.
00:27:26
Speaker
We'll get into that later. I have a theory about that though. Okay. Go. Or you want to wait? yeah well I feel like all those people, those figures that we see, i think maybe they are people who have failed in the ritual and were damned.
00:27:43
Speaker
And that's why you they're trying to pull at her because they want her to fail as well.
00:27:50
Speaker
Yeah, because it kind of laid traps for her to fall into. you Yeah. Where they can nab her. Yeah, they all seem very humanistic for the most part. Yeah. Despite the body paint and everything. But yeah, that that's my feeling. I feel like those are people who failed, you know.
00:28:06
Speaker
That's that's a nice perspective. Nice perspective. right. Editing in special effects then. ah Did you give your score, Jonathan? You said three or yeah three, right?
00:28:18
Speaker
Yeah. Okay.
00:28:22
Speaker
So the editing and special effects, it runs just at an hour 40. ah The film is mostly set in a single house.
00:28:34
Speaker
So it's 90% interior spaces. We get some open air settings at the beginning and a little bit right before the third act, but it is, it kind of leans into the cost of phobia with its editing.
00:28:50
Speaker
I, it's one of the things that
00:28:54
Speaker
I don't want to say i don't love. It's one of the things that makes this hard for me to watch because I don't like being trapped in a single setting. i don't. which like for my personal life I do, but for a movie, for a movie, I like to get out and know that this takes place in a world basically.
00:29:14
Speaker
But for this movie, that world is inside the walls of the house. He says early on, they're trying to separate this place from reality, basically sever its ties.
00:29:27
Speaker
And I think the editing does a lot to help establish that kind of claustrophobia cutting them off. um Just for example, like windows play a big part in picking rooms, but we never see through a window.
Editing and Claustrophobia
00:29:45
Speaker
we never see outside or we never see from outside in We are always inside the house with them. So there are a lot of little things that kind of goes in the directing, I guess. But ah also the way they do the montages that show the rituals taking weeks or ah my least favorite one is when she drinks his blood and then immediately cuts back and does it again. And I don't exactly understand that edit.
00:30:12
Speaker
But it's also super effective because it's just gross. And I hate that scene. I hate that scene. Oh, and she's got hepatitis. Drink it anyway.
00:30:23
Speaker
i think I think it's punishment for being hesitant against doing that part of it. I think that's part of the bunch of being like, oh, you're going hold up. You're going to try and staunch on this. No, you're going it again. I'll make you do it again. Yeah. Drink it. Drink it.
00:30:37
Speaker
There's very little special effects period until the very end. Yeah. i And that it's it's fine. It's fine. um One of my favorite effect shots is when the demon appears in the chair.
00:30:52
Speaker
Yes.
00:30:54
Speaker
That is one of the standout like that is the scene that sent shivers down my spine. That scene was so good. And like we see the shadow of him smoking a cigarette in the chair.
00:31:08
Speaker
But then as she moves around and gets closer, it just dissipates to a coat hung over the chair. And it is so good. It is so good. Those are my thoughts on that.
00:31:23
Speaker
Go for it, David. but Um, yeah, I mean, i think for me, the the editing, yeah, is definitely how well ah how well they can kind of move through the montage sequences, especially of the rituals is definitely a Definitely something I'll give credit for just because it never kind of bogs it down too much.
00:31:45
Speaker
The only thing I kind of really had, like I know earlier on too, for the special effects, there is a scene where he cuts himself. I thought that was very well done where you see the knife actually get pulled out and then like the blood starts seeping out where it made me kind of cringe on myself. Cause not a big fan of seeing like realistic gore like that.
00:32:02
Speaker
ah But I mean, and we kind of already alluded to it. I didn't necessarily love the look of the demons. I don't really have anything necessarily against them. It's for me, i just think we I wanted a little bit more there.
00:32:13
Speaker
And I mean, the first time watched this, did not love the look of the guardian angel. It has grown on me the second time around where I kind of look at it as something from like the movie Dogma, where they have to kind of come to you in ways where you can handle it.
00:32:30
Speaker
And that's kind of how I interpret it this time. So I can yeah kind of work around the CGI or like the effects of that not looking wonderful. Cause first time was like, wait, what this is, this is what we built to.
00:32:45
Speaker
Yes, the voice effect, the voice effect, though, was excellent. I was absolutely like we have no idea what that angel said, but we saw its mouth moving and the house just vibrating with its words.
00:32:58
Speaker
I thought that was an excellent choice. But yeah, I agree with you on on that angel reveal. Heck yeah. um Yeah, I can't really say much else in regards to special effects. I mean, you guys pretty much covered most of it there.
00:33:12
Speaker
but I agree Watching her having to pull that chef knife out of his side. God, that just... That got me more than anything. like you know't like Even when she gets her finger cut off in the basement, you don't really see much of that. You just see the blood effect and everything pouring and her having been bashed in the head and drug around.
00:33:33
Speaker
it yeah There's not really much to say other about the effects. Although... I can't really say, well me he would sue it I would say it's an effect, but like when you see that first gold pedal kind of like drop through the air. and Those are nice. It's like, oh my gosh.
00:33:47
Speaker
And then you see it like later on when they complete part the ritual and then just more kind showering down in the circle itself. Nowhere else, but like in the circle. And then you see kind broadened to the room itself. It seems like in the next shot where they go from one side, from like her right side over to her left side.
00:34:03
Speaker
Yeah. With a wider angle. Yeah. So that was kind of cool. And we get the ash too. So we have the gold in the ash kind of signaling the heaven and hell, I guess.
00:34:15
Speaker
i Man, there is something you said that I wanted to. oh well, it was coming. And come to me later. ah The editing and special. Oh, oh, the the the demons. They're like extras from Cannibal Holocaust. It just doesn't it it doesn't work for me.
00:34:35
Speaker
They're just yeah, I'll get I'll get to actually when I saw them in the way they're painted with the streaks and everything. It reminds me of the band Motograder. Because those dudes were all kind of painted up like that streaks of black and white paint and everything all over.
00:34:50
Speaker
ah was like, oh man, they should have had those dudes in that music video for that band.
00:34:56
Speaker
I am a three for the editing and special effects. I thought it was good.
00:35:02
Speaker
I am right on that same path with I'm a three as well. yeah I came in with a three as well. Boosh. All right, so let's move on to the script in this category.
00:35:14
Speaker
So the script for this one, like I said at the beginning, it was written in three weeks, but it is especially serious about this ritual. It takes it extremely seriously. It's based on an actual ritual.
00:35:31
Speaker
I don't know how much of what we see on screen is that ritual, um but... Some of like it is extremely well researched.
00:35:42
Speaker
I I'm impressed by it, even if I don't understand 70% of what it's talking about metaphysical honesty, spiritual risks, what metaphors absolution, ah like all kinds of crap. And I'm like, i don't I don't exactly follow, but I get the gist.
00:36:02
Speaker
I kind of have an idea what you're talking about. but it is well researched very thorough. So I got to give it credit for that. I do think it kind of loses a little bit of.
00:36:17
Speaker
Like it is at both times. Highlighting her grief like that is the reason why she is doing all of this, but it also doesn't highlight it enough for me. I want to know more like she's going through all of this and she's so determined and maybe that's just me looking at it wrong. She is so determined to get through all of this for her son that she never waivers.
00:36:42
Speaker
But part of me is like going through this. I'd be wavering. i would I would be like, I don't know. Is it worth it? Like that's that's where I would or when she's questioning if it's even working, you know,
00:36:54
Speaker
There are those moments, but that's what I would want to see in the script. I think the script does a really good job of setting her up with her determination, setting up this ritual to feel very real, like uncomfortably real at points. So i I'm impressed with the script. If anything, my biggest gripe would be the ending is very sudden in how she comes to ask for forgiveness instead.
00:37:24
Speaker
I think that is very abrupt, but outside of that, I think it does an excellent job.
00:37:32
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I, I agree with pretty much everything you're saying there is that first and foremost, I mean, just the care and the, like that goes into the ritual portion of it and just how,
00:37:45
Speaker
realistic that looks and I mean, he tells you how grueling is going to be. And then we see how grueling it's going to be and him torturing her, whether it's like pouring water on her while she's doing this type of stuff or where she's crying and like screaming about like needing to go to sleep. And he's like, no, you have to stay awake.
00:38:00
Speaker
Like just the care that was put into including all of that.
Script Details and Criticism
00:38:04
Speaker
That's probably the biggest thing that I end up giving it credit for. But I do agree with you that I do think it kind of is a abrupt in how it ends.
00:38:12
Speaker
And I think that's where they kind of want the viewer to kind of take everything you just saw her go through. That's why. But I do think there could be a little bit more there outside of just her seeing all this and then leaving. Yeah.
00:38:29
Speaker
Man, I... It's like it's weird because like during in the beginning, you see small glimpses where she has like kind of flashback, almost like a daydream kind of thing where you see her little boy lying on the ground and the lady laying over her.
00:38:44
Speaker
over him that you see later on in the hallways of the dark of the house coming at her before she gets whacked and dragged into the basement kind of thing. um ah It would have been nice if we could have gotten some some scenes written into there where we kind of get some of the darker notes of what happened with her son.
00:39:04
Speaker
I would have liked to have seen a little bit of that to give more weight at the beginning of the film. Maybe it's not necessary, but I think that would have done something more for it. because we never really get an idea of how much time has passed, do we? Has she said?
00:39:21
Speaker
ah don't recall, but I think maybe it might have been like somewhat recent within like at least the past year maybe? I think so. It seems kind of fresh. Cause the only thing that kind of use for like a timeframe kind of with what Jonathan was saying is the sister says something about her having the stint in the mental hospital due to her grief.
00:39:38
Speaker
But I don't know, but I don't, but I, it's, I feel like it's literally been between like six months and a year since everything's kind of went down and she got like, it almost seems like she just got out of the hospital and then jumped right into doing this ritual almost.
00:39:52
Speaker
It was just then questions is this all in her head? So, The movie doesn't lean into that at all, but she just left the mental hospital and then locked herself in a house for six months.
00:40:04
Speaker
Is anything she told her? Because like what after Joseph dies in the bed, she goes back to try and see about finishing the ritual, and everything in the books is all scribbled out.
00:40:16
Speaker
Everything's been blacked out. Everything. It's like, I don't think you would have really had the time to do that since they were in process through all that up until he died. So it makes you think, was it in her head or she's tripping balls or is this part of the ritual being like, no, we're cutting you off.
00:40:32
Speaker
We're going to damn you. going to drag you out. it could also be where her like while he's like dying did she go off and like color over all of this stuff in black and like then go back in and like lay down with him like is this something she did and like a psychosis that she doesn't remember doing which could kind of play into is this all mental illness oh see i thought i saw that scene and i thought he did it that like she he did it kind of as revenge because he is dying this for her and he's like well fuck you could be trapped yeah so there's a lot of different layers to that one scene of her finding scribbled out what could that mean yeah so for me
00:41:21
Speaker
man, this is weird kicking off a genre. I don't know a subgenre I don't necessarily love, but this movie, it's got high praise for me, honestly. um i think the script is a four. It is extremely attention to detailed. It is extremely well researched.
00:41:39
Speaker
There are the things that we need answered get answered. The things that we speculate about here aren't essential to understanding the story.
00:41:50
Speaker
And I like that there are those layers. We understand who these characters are, where they're going. We understand why they're doing this. But there's those little bits of mystery left throughout the script that we can pick apart later and talk about.
00:42:03
Speaker
And that to me, like, that's a great script really well, really Well done job. There we go. That's my words.
00:42:17
Speaker
um Yeah, I came in for the I mean, kind of
Portrayal of Ritual and Horror
00:42:20
Speaker
echoing a lot of that. Yeah, I came in with a four as well. Just come from the things we said, I think kid there's so much detail here. And I love going back to a ritual being this difficult to complete and actually being able to convey that in a way where I believe what you're doing.
00:42:35
Speaker
hmm. I agree with you fellas as well. I'm also sitting at a four.
00:42:42
Speaker
All right. On to the acting. so again, we only really had two characters. So then we really only have two actors.
00:42:51
Speaker
But we have Catherine Walker, who's Sophia.
00:42:56
Speaker
She's so good. She is so I can't complain. Steve Oram is Joseph. But I can't complain about either one of them. I fully believe that he's a piece of shit. I fully believe that she is just like deeply committed to executing this to speak to her side.
00:43:20
Speaker
you know i there's not a moment that i think is underperformed when she's drinking his blood i'm about to throw up because she sells that she sells that so well uh mean he does too He does too. And then again, like we talked about when he drowns her in the bathtub, they both, it's a hard scene to watch. It's prolonged.
00:43:46
Speaker
They both do a great job of that. But then there are those even moments of tenderness, like when he gets stabbed and he is asking her to distract him. Basically tell me a story about your son.
00:43:59
Speaker
And there's this moment of tenderness between them or when he is sick in bed right before he dies that she seems to come to comfort him. There are these layers to the performance that I want to see Katherine Walker and something else.
00:44:13
Speaker
I want to see Steve Oram and something else. So i'm I'm impressed by both of their performances. In all honesty, I think they did so much with so when I say so little as in it's a locked house storyline, they are trapped in these rooms and it is just the two of them and they sell it.
Performance Highlights
00:44:36
Speaker
Yeah, no, I would agree. It's actually interesting so I'm pretty sure Steve Oram is a like British comedian. Cause I know he's been in a few things that I've seen and he works with like Alice low who does a little bit into like the horror genre as well. And I know she's also a comedian.
00:44:54
Speaker
So I think that kind of helps him, especially with his timing, with being able to kind of, cause I mean, he sells it so well on his blowups at her when they're like, when she kind of like pushes back and he like yells at her like, Hey,
00:45:11
Speaker
you are agreed to these terms. This is what we're going to do. Like, this is the ritual. And I just think he times it so well, where like, it feels like a real blow up that like I would have with somebody in my life when, you know, I get angry and you just kind of snap at somebody. Is it so well placed that it doesn't even feel like acting. It just kind of feels like these two people are just trapped in this house and going back and forth.
00:45:34
Speaker
You're totally accurate. That comedic timing makes sense with his because he, he He sells his angry scenes extremely well.
00:45:45
Speaker
For sure. did Looking at Wikipedia, he is a comedian. So you are correct, David. Yeah, he's been on a bunch. He's got a huge catalog of stuff. ah He was actually he had a role in Doctor Who, which is series 13, which I thought was pretty cool.
00:45:59
Speaker
A show called The Midsommar Murders. I believe that's oh I think that's on Tubi. Maybe or maybe one of the example of the streaming series. I know I saw it the other day. And he was also on one that's got oh, dude, he was on The Mighty Boosh.
00:46:14
Speaker
Okay. Yeah, he was in the episode he played Donnie in the episode of the strange tale of the crack Fox. So i was like that. I knew that dude looks familiar somewhere. And it looks like he was another show called Titty Bang Bang.
00:46:24
Speaker
Okay. That must have been a comedy show title like that. But yeah, he he definitely knows how to to do a blow up on the temper, especially with how strict they have to be with it and how intense he is in those moments.
00:46:40
Speaker
Yeah, he definitely kicked ass in those. Catherine, though, she also has quite the catalog in television and film, but nothing that really rings a bell for me.
00:46:52
Speaker
I'd du She was in Napoleon. Oh. With Joaquin Phoenix. See, I haven't seen that one. Yeah, I didn't watch that. I haven't seen it either, but it's a Ridley Scott movie.
00:47:07
Speaker
I know of it. and that's But she was Marie Antoinette. Yeah. Oh, shit. Okay. I mean, and pretty big deal is not in she was a side character. She was Marie Antoinette, which is pretty significant.
00:47:21
Speaker
So yeah, she and like you said, she does have a pretty well stacked TV credentials. Lots of British stuff, obviously.
00:47:35
Speaker
But yeah, I was thoroughly impressed with both of their performances here. I struggle.
00:47:43
Speaker
I struggle to give it ah five, but I don't know what else it is because this movie would be infinitely worse if they were less than a five.
00:47:57
Speaker
So they sell it. They sell it. I think I'm a five on this acting. I think they are incredible.
00:48:05
Speaker
Yeah, that's where was coming in too, just because it's it's a two person thing and neither one of them have anything that I can kind of hold against it. And then everybody else is they have their job to do and it's so limited that it kind of works to kind of push them to where they are. So yeah, I'm with you five.
00:48:21
Speaker
ah You know, and yeah, we we got to hit the trifecta on that one. I'm a five as well. you know From the beginning where they're getting to know each other, it's so tense, so demanding. And then it gets so dark, but then it gets so lighthearted. Like, especially even the part where they're sitting there on the couch and talking about nightmares. And his worst nightmare is the one where he owns a fucking scooter.
00:48:44
Speaker
It's like, dude, it's just so ridiculous. But it's so good. It just... You get those moments of brief humanistic tendencies. And then it just all goes back to dark again, back and forth. And the way they played off each other. And that was fantastic.
00:49:00
Speaker
Yep. Absolutely. So that's all all three of our scores, correct? Yeah. All right. So direction, i have to double check because so many times I think we've done it and I move on and one of you have your score.
00:49:14
Speaker
But All right, the direction, Liam Gavin. ah This was his first film from what I could find. But I don't know if that was first. I mean, simple IMDb check would tell me. But ah first film written and directed for sure.
00:49:34
Speaker
I think it was his first directed film as well. But he
00:49:42
Speaker
He does an excellent job of building atmosphere. I can't think of many real there's maybe two jump scares in the film. There's not it is not jump scare heavy and it doesn't even emphasize those jump scares. They're not accompanied with like clashing symbols. It is just like, oh ah He leans into the lighting. He leans into shadows, keeping the interior of the house very natural and eerie. He's big on that isolation, does an excellent job with the isolation.
00:50:16
Speaker
But it is definitely more of a psychological movie. So from the body violation stuff going on to the supernatural stuff going on but he balances it really well.
00:50:31
Speaker
It's just like so well, it's just uncomfortable nearly the entire time. it is an uncomfortable hour and 40 minutes of movie. There's always the constant threat of something going horribly wrong.
00:50:45
Speaker
and it is also just very visually appealing throughout most of the film uh the house the shots the lighting it all looks really good i would not have guessed that this was a first-time director's film i not at all i think he really knocked it out of the park with this one um he made me want to look up his other films based on how he directed this one because i think he did an excellent job nice wide establishing it xing shots not i don't know about i don't like close-ups all that much but uh he did direct an episode
00:51:34
Speaker
So he did shorts before this, but this was his first film. And then he did direct an episode of the haunting of Bly Manor. Oh, so the sequel to Hill House that most people think is inferior.
00:51:47
Speaker
He actually did two episodes of that. Sorry, but that was the last thing he did five years ago.
Direction and Tension
00:51:54
Speaker
Huh? It's kind of interesting to, I mean, this would translate well to something like the haunting of blind manor, just because that's obviously like a haunted house type thing.
00:52:03
Speaker
And this isn't a haunted house, but I mean, it becomes a haunted house because of everything they're doing. So that's a very logical kind of, it's kind of crazy. He hasn't done much outside of that though, because I, I do think he directs us very well, especially for your first feature to be able to kind of capture that and to drive that tension that you need for something like this.
00:52:30
Speaker
Right on. So I can't really say too much. You guys have already spoken a lot on the direction, but I will say throughout the film, though, I do like how you've got the primary focus on Sophia and you get a lot of those scenes where you see Joseph in the background in juxtaposition.
00:52:48
Speaker
Yeah, as that overseer as the guide, making sure that everything's on track and then just always seeing her and focus for the most part and the tension and everything that she goes through while he's just kind of just strolling around doing whatever, kicking back half the time, you know, just making sure that, you know, she does her part of if everything needs to be done.
00:53:08
Speaker
So I had a good appreciation for that. And I do like going with that too, is that You bring up a very good point there because like early on when they're kind of getting into the groove of everything, he is kind of just standing over and watching her.
00:53:22
Speaker
And it's kind of interesting when his wound gets infected, how you see her still doing the ritual. And he's sitting in the other room with his like the headband thing is not tied anymore. And he's just sitting there sweating and just looking so just hurt and disheveled that that's such a good juxtaposition that like the ritual is falling apart because he's falling apart.
00:53:43
Speaker
Yeah. Well, you see that medicine bottle because he starts taking the pills and everything. Right. Painkillers, I'm assuming. And then you get down we're seeing the bottles on the side with that one last pill and you see him where he takes off the bandage see the he's got the puss running. Yeah. Okay. You know, this is coming. You allude to that. This is not going to end well for him. and It's like, okay, gotcha.
00:54:03
Speaker
That puss is so gross. I hate that. I hate that scene. So when it comes to direction, I am at a four on this. I'm I'm genuinely sad and that the director hasn't done more. This is his only film, you know, two episodes of Bly Manor and some shorts.
00:54:18
Speaker
That is it. I wish he had something else. And that was this was 2016. Bly Manor was 2020 and nothing since. So, yeah. Wow.
00:54:29
Speaker
Oh, yeah. That's right. I came into actually I have a direction at a four. I'm sitting at three. All right. So then onto the it factor. So the it factor Dark Song received mostly positive critical reception, high on Rotten Tomatoes, but the box office was super limited. it only drew in about 23,000 on its theatrical release.
00:54:58
Speaker
So my roof costs more than that. But yeah yeah it has found more success in streaming and the festival circuit. It did pretty well.
00:55:09
Speaker
But it is often praised for avoiding typical tropes like there's not a lot of gore. There's very few jump scares and it relies on that occult storytelling and the emotional depth.
00:55:24
Speaker
So there's a lot here for people who actually see it. And most of the buzz I've seen around this movie is that it is kind of worth the hype is what I've heard.
00:55:35
Speaker
um But this is one that I had never heard of until I was researching full core movies for this. So this is one that like it flew under the radar.
00:55:48
Speaker
I mean, I do kind of pay attention to IFC movies because usually they're pretty decent indie films. um But this this was kind of flew under the radar for me.
00:56:01
Speaker
I'd agree. I think this is definitely like a horror movie fan movie now where like it didn't really take off. It didn't really kind of capture with like the mainstream audience.
00:56:12
Speaker
And I mean, to be honest, this is kind of too heavy, I would say for most mainstream fans, just because it is just so bleak. And I really think it's it bums me to say, though, because I do like this movie so much that it really kind of is there's a certain audience for a movie like this.
00:56:31
Speaker
That's fair. um I can't really say how much like cultural significance it really has. Right. It's unique in that it's an in-depth occultist process going on and you don't see too much that.
00:56:44
Speaker
Right. Most films that you see where there's any kind of magic ritual stuff like Tim even mentioned earlier. It's very quick, very brief. They draw this out, a little bit of cut in this, blood, squirt, blah, blah, blah, you know, sacrifice stuff, and then boom, here's your summons. Right. So it does it does lend to the genre of like occultist horror and folk of horror in a small way, but with it being so minimally heard of,
00:57:09
Speaker
it doesn't really, i don't think it really warrants much in the way of significance. It's just more of a a stepping stone for those getting into folklore. This will be a good one from the watch as they broaden their horizons into that that subgenre.
Folk Horror Entry Point
00:57:23
Speaker
I would recommend this if you're like in a college class and it's like something to do with like rituals or anything like that or like, talk black magic, watch this shit. So you want to see a real ritual. Here you go. Like check this one out.
00:57:35
Speaker
That is the other thing that I like about this film. And sorry if you guys just said it. um The ritual, it avoids that like 80s satanic panic ritual.
00:57:47
Speaker
They're not drawing lines and blood on the floor. They're not, you know, goat heads and all that stuff. It is a very. okay It's almost what makes it uncomfortable is that it seems very real.
00:57:59
Speaker
Yeah, it seems much more realistic than the others. But yeah, I'm a. I'm a two on the effector. It's actually rouse that too, as well as a two. well hot damn so am i All right.
00:58:13
Speaker
Two's all day. Okay, so we blew through this movie. We are just at about an hour now. So I'm impressed. um Where are we on? How entertained were you out of 10? What is your entertainment value out of 10?
00:58:29
Speaker
And kind of your you can throw in well, You can throw in last thoughts as well if you want, but out of 10, where's this movie set for you? I'll say for me, this one kind of looking at how like you guys would use the scale is that for me, I like, I really love this movie in the fact that it is so different and it is, and I'm a person who tends to enjoy like bleak movies.
00:58:53
Speaker
even with the ending here being uplifting, it still gives me that like, it's a logical way to end something like this where you don't necessarily have to go depressing to, you know, like to put a cap on this because it's so depressing all the way up to it.
00:59:09
Speaker
But this is definitely one that this is my second watch of it. And my last time was a few years ago where a local podcast around here showed it at the theater. So like my wife and I went to see it because neither one of us had,
00:59:22
Speaker
I knew what it was. She had no idea. And we both really liked it, but it's one of those ones where at the end of it, I'm like, yeah, I need, I need a palate cleanser. I can't, I can't come back to this one for a little while. So I ended up coming with an eight on it, even though I do really enjoy it. I just can't come back to this one all that often.
00:59:42
Speaker
Understandably. For me, i like the dark macabre and this the somewhat sad, depressing isolation kind of part of it. um Even though it's not something that's well known or heard of until now, I did enjoy this quite a bit.
00:59:57
Speaker
So I would definitely recommend this to to other people because it is deep and it does hit you in kind of a deep emotional sense and the mentality of it all.
01:00:09
Speaker
um So for for me, it's a seven. all right i am all right so here we go uh tim picking time yeah i i'm trying to organize my words here the i respect this movie a lot as i've given it very high praise so far throughout every category i think this movie is exceptionally well made i'm surprised it's the first time
01:00:42
Speaker
featured director writer like it is stunning. It's quite an accomplishment for your first feature movie to be this good. ah For me, as I said at the beginning of the episode, I don't care for full core all that much.
01:00:59
Speaker
It is not my favorite thing in the world. I would rather spend the weekend in the woods with Jason than watching this. So that is where like I'm watching this and I'm i' in awe of some of the things this director does.
01:01:18
Speaker
I'm in awe by some of the acting choices that they choose. But am I going to watch this movie again? i don't know that I want to. Ultimately, I have a hard time watching these two people suffer for an hour and a half.
01:01:38
Speaker
and it's just like it is brutal to watch and there's there's worse there's worse torture movies out there okay that exists this is psychological torture and it's not I get little enjoyment out of watching that yeah for me I think if the payoff had been bigger at the end it would have changed my opinion of the movie but I didn't care for the demons dragging her into hell. i thought that was really weird.
01:02:09
Speaker
I didn't even understand they were demons at first. I was like, what is going on? As I said earlier, I thought there were like hobos in the basement pulling her down. I was like, what is happening?
01:02:21
Speaker
And then I got it eventually. ah I did think the angel was cool, like that flip of what we expected in that culmination. But do I want to sit through this?
Tim's Personal Take
01:02:34
Speaker
one hour and 40 minutes of this again no ah don't really i'm gonna put on i'm gonna put on friday the 13th i'm gonna put on a nightmare on elm street when it comes to full car movies there are others on this list that i would pick above this one to watch uh but i was impressed by it so ultimately my how entertained was i my enjoyment level i was a four out of ten i wow yeah i didn't I enjoyed the technical aspects of the film, the movie itself.
01:03:11
Speaker
I could take it or leave it. you know i did struggle to watch it the second time just because I was like, is is it is so bleak until the very end.
01:03:23
Speaker
It is so bleak until the very end. I wish even if there was humor in it, that would have been nice. Just little touches of humor would have helped. But yeah, unfortunately, i am a four, which I'm looking at our scores and it's fascinating, Jonathan.
01:03:38
Speaker
fa said David, do you have your total? I believe it was 40 if my math was adding up correctly. Okay. So Jonathan, what was yours? My total is a 35.
01:03:49
Speaker
Okay, and surprisingly, Jonathan, my total is also a 35. so even even though we enjoyed it differently, our totals are both 35.
01:04:01
Speaker
So that brings us to an average of 37, or i i would round that up to, would I round that up?
01:04:12
Speaker
No, that goes to 35. So three and a half three and a half stars out of five for this film. So that is where our average is.
01:04:24
Speaker
You guys have any you can chime in any any i thoughts on where we end up with that? It's actually funny because that's dead on with the letterboxed average rating is a three point three.
01:04:36
Speaker
So really? Yes. but he said that I was like, I feel like that's dead on. So yeah. So what was your personal star? Like, did you letterbox it? um Not yet, because I don't like, if I'm going to be on a show, i don't want anybody to like look at my rating.
01:04:52
Speaker
um I think for me, i'm a i i give it 10 what I'm to end up giving this one, just because, like I said, it falls in line with... so much things that I love about things. And I think the first time I watched it, I was at a nine.
01:05:08
Speaker
And I'm also, I should preface, huge fan of full core. So I completely understand that if you're not, that this wouldn't be your jam because yeah. So that's, ah yeah, pretty spot on then.
01:05:19
Speaker
Well, I'm glad you're here being a big fan of full core. I enjoy certain films in the genre, but definitely not most of them. It is a strangely enough. My wife enjoys this genre far, okay far more than I do.
01:05:33
Speaker
But yeah. so with that said, Jonathan, are you ready to read us out? oh Yeah, let's get kicking on that. So you might have to refresh the page, but no. we're technology thank you right so everybody that wraps up a dark song a haunting entry in the folk horror canon that reminds us how far grief can push someone and how dangerous it can be when ritual and desperation intertwine huge thanks to our guest david from journey with the cinephile for joining us tonight david thank you so much yeah thank you um appreciate you guys having me it's always great to chat with you fine gentlemen
01:06:19
Speaker
Yeah, this was this time we did not require two films from you, but just the yeah
01:06:27
Speaker
All right. So if you're listening, don't forget to drop your own score for a dark song on our Instagram using one of our rating systems. We love seeing how your reviews stack up against ours. And if you're looking for the perfect October read, some shameless plug, something with found footage chills, YouTube Ghost Hunter vibes in that creeping sense of dread, you can grab my new book, like, comment, survive right now. It's perfect for fans of hi YouTube Ghost Hunters is what I'd like to say. Or if you grew up watching ah Ghost Hunters,
01:07:01
Speaker
Classic. ah Even if you, there's a character based on Zach Bagans in case you like ghost adventures. So if that's your speed, pick it up. So be sure to like, share, and follow. Every interaction helps other horror fans find their way into our little ritual circle.
01:07:19
Speaker
And remember, this is the beginning of our final season of 13 Nights of Halloween. We've got plenty more folk horror nightmares waiting for you as we make our way to Halloween night.
01:07:32
Speaker
Until then, keep your candles lit, your salt circles strong, and stay safe out there. This is The Average. Where the real review happens with your friends. Music