I feel duped.
I watched A Dark Song's trailer and figured I'd be getting into some budget Christian horror. Maybe a little Exorcist meets The Shining, you know-
Get those thoughts out of your head. I kept waiting for this movie to start but it never really does. At the end, there's some minor jump scares (not to mention a particularly budget-looking supernatural creature), but nothing's delivered. The promise of this movie – two souls, broken beyond repair, gaining redemption – fails to connect.
It's difficult to discuss in a spoiler-free way, but the story is about Sophia (Catherine Walker) who's trying to commune with her dead son. Joseph (Steve Oram) is just the dude for her: a sorcerer of sorts, who understands the rites to grant wishes from angels.
The premise feels good, but it never lands. While the acting from both leads isn't bad, they're not given a lot to work with. Joseph is totally unlikable, and Sophia's not much better. The hero's journey she embarks on is to speak to her dead son, but within literally the last 5 minutes she does an about-face, changes her world view, and nopes on out (exit stage left).
It's not earned. Nothing about the story implies this ending, and it's unsatisfactory. Reading the IMDB reviews, there seems to be a mix: people who like slow burns without a point, giving this five stars, and those who agree the emperor has no clothes.
And it's not scary. A Dark Song delivers the worst sin of all: it's boring. I spent most of the movie checking my phone, hoping for a work-related email.
Avoid.