Film Review: We Summon the Darkness (2019) – Review 2

SYNOPSIS:

Back in 1988, during a wave of what is thought to be Satanic murders, a trio of friends head to a heavy metal concert and soon find their lives in danger afterward after accepting an invite to a house out in the country to party.

REVIEW:

I grew up in the 80s and was into the whole heavy metal thing in high school so I remember all the TV evangelists and the like talking about how the music was evil and caused the people who listened to it to go nuts and kill their friends and everything. As such I thought that the premise for We Summon the Darkness sounded cool as this idea plays a huge part in the overall plot. I’d heard mixed reviews about it as some people really dug it while others flat out hated it. I guess I’d have to say that I was part of the former as I thought it was an awesome little flick that was surprisingly good for several reasons.

I dug the premise and thought that it was interesting. We have a trio of girls who are heading to a heavy metal concert despite the fact that it is all over the news that a rash of murders with satanic implications have been taking place in the area (as well as in the country in general). The girls aren’t concerned though and go to the concert anyway where they run across a trio of guys that they connect with. Before you know it, the group decide to head to the house one of the girls’ father owns to party and then things get crazy. I don’t want to say too much about what happens because I don’t want to give anything away, but let’s just say that it’s different, unique, and very refreshing. I didn’t see what happened coming and I don’t think that a lot of other viewers out there will either. I honestly can’t say any more than that because I don’t want to ruin it for anyone but believe me when I say that it is pretty damn cool.

One of the biggest strengths of the movie is the big twist that takes place quite early on. As I already said, I didn’t see it coming and it came as one hell of a surprise to me. It just sort of comes out of nowhere and is totally unexpected but it works. I thought for sure that the film was going to go in a certain direction from the very start but that just wasn’t the case and I for one certainly appreciated it. I know that there are probably going to be some viewers out there that won’t like it, but I personally thought that it was an awesome twist and commend the filmmakers for going the route that they did with it. Instead of getting your typical movie about a group of people being stalked and killed by a Satanic cult we get something a little different and I approve.

I also thought that the cast did a great job as well. Alexandra Daddario and Maddie Hasson were both great in their respective roles, as was Johnny Knoxville (who plays a preacher that condemns heavy metal music), but the real standouts were Amy Forsyth and Keean Johnson. While Forsyth did an awesome job as Bev, I think that my favorite character in the movie was Mark, who Johnson played. Mark is just a genuinely good guy and likeable person, and you can’t help but root for him as things go from bad to worse for him and the other characters as the movie progresses. I can honestly say that I didn’t have a problem with a single character in the movie and thought that the actors portraying them all did a wonderful job bringing them to life.

I really enjoyed We Summon the Darkness and suggest you check it out as soon as you can (I mean hey, we’re all stuck at home because of the Covid-19 thing-at least I hope you are staying at home-so if you’re bored and have nothing to watch give this movie a shot). It wasn’t at all what I was expecting it to be (which is a good thing) and I ended up digging it a lot more than I thought that I would. If you’re in the mood for something different and original give it a try, trust me when I say that you won’t be let down.