A Dark Song

2016 Directed by Liam Gavin

Not everything can be forgiven.

A determined young woman and a damaged occultist risk their lives and souls to perform a dangerous ritual that will grant them what they want.

Catherine Walker Steve Oram Mark Huberman Susan Loughnane Nathan Vos Martina Nunvarova Breffni O'Connor Sheila Moloney

Alternative Titles

Ritual del más allá, 다크송: 저주의 시작, Темна пісня, Песнь тьмы

horror fantasy drama mystery

100 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Biscoito18 ★★★★ 9

This film is not for every horror fan. Not only is a slow burn with practically only two characters, but it also relies heavily on the power of imagination. If you seek jump scares or gore, stay away.
The real horror is inside the protagonist Sophia, brilliantly played by Catherine Walker. The horrible feelings that she hides inside, including the crave for revenge and the emptiness, are nothing compared with the horror that would be finding nothing that could heal her hounds after putting so much hope in this last chance for healing.
The house used for the ritual is very well filmed. You are always guessing what is happening across the room or down the corridor. The real events…
Review by matt lynch ★★★

Treats the occult like a procedure, diagramming steps almost like a physician might lay out a path of treatment. Sort of unravels once it decides to start answering some of its questions but still novel and patient.
Review by Marianna ✨🪐 Neal ★★★★ 1

This is NOT a horror film for everyone, and there are two reasons why. First of all, it's definitely a slow-burning movie where the focus is on the situation itself rather than a chain of events. Second, A Dark Song really approaches the ritual with a lot of attention – it's not a glamorous portrayal of witchcraft, it's drawn out, it's unsettling, it's dirty, it goes for realism, and it doesn't yield immediate obvious results. If you have an issue with either of those – I don't think this film is for you.
That being said, I really enjoyed A Dark Song, particularly because of how different it was from other supernatural films based around rituals. It's a beautifully shot,…
Review by Rejia ★★★★ 7

A grieving woman hires an occultist to contact her dead son. They spend weeks locked away in a rambling old house, in the middle of nowhere.
Two characters who when you first meet couldn't be farther apart in social class, temperament and moral boundaries. Revision on the last description though as the story unfolds, the lines become blurred whose conduct is more cause for concern. They don't get on at first but over time, they develop a love hate relationship.
The occultist is a foul-mouthed alcoholic who decides to go cold turkey at the beginning of a series of torturous rituals. He says they are gnostic based to call forth the woman's 'guardian angel' to ask her favour. I have…
Review by Hollie Horror ★★★½ 1

After watching Nicolas Roeg's Puffball, it was only fitting to follow it up with another Irish horror film centering rituals and magic. Where Puffball was only vaguely genre certified, A Dark Song steeps itself in atmospheric horror. I find the voice behind the door far more frightening than the physical manifestation of horror that followed, but this is one of those movies that will linger, an enigma shrouded in dark magic, I don't know if I'm dedicated & determined enough to decode its mysteries but I was moved by the haunting mood provided by the lead performances, Ray Harman's incredible score and Cathal Watters' cinematography.
Review by CatinmyBrain ★★★★½

A Dark Song is about a woman named Sophia (the fantastic Catherine Walker) who has lost someone important to her and is set on a quest using forbidden magic to contact a God.
What she really wants is uncertain. Closure? Revenge? Clarity? In fact its uncertain even to her. She has to choose her path and walk it and that choice (or her indecision) can either bring doom or enlightenment.
Her mentor in this quest is a more experienced magic expert Joseph (the excellent Steve Oram). Joseph is a cynical and abusive toad with a light streak of fragile humanity. Joseph has helped others in the past...for a price.
The two set about a gruelling and isolating ritual where they…
Review by Slig001 ★★★★

A great slow burning horror film that takes ideas seen so many times in the genre, but spins it fresh with a realistic approach. A Dark Song takes place almost entirely in one location and has just two central characters; a grieving woman and an occultist, who are brought together as she wants help conducting a ritual for her own ends. The film is very well paced. The subject matter, which mainly concerns magic and the occult is fascinating; and the film always gives just enough to keep things interesting without ever really explaining anything. The house where everything takes place is very well shot and makes for a great central location. The film is very tense and has some…
Review by Freyr ★★★★ 4

There have been some really wonderful debut horror films in the last few years, and A Dark Song falls into that lot, by way of Irish writer/director Liam Gavin. Most notably he showcases a penchant for calculation in both his filming and his writing, where every scene is staged carefully to elicit a certain feeling or perspective, and the incredibly detailed rituals and processes of the plot are laid out painful detail. Together, it creates a film that establishes the world that it lives in, the rules and the methods, and carefully works within its own boundaries and guidelines, no matter how fantastical they grow to become.
The first thing I noticed out the gate is that the film is…
Review by Fake Shemp 1

The shitty ass poster on Prime does not in any way do this justice.
A fantastic little weird creepy movie.
Why had nobody told me about this?
Review by Kodiak ★★★½

Whew, that was a grueling one. Sort of like an occult version of Antichrist. The whole movie is like a really bad trip. In fact, I’ve had a bad trip that involved rattling doorknobs, moving objects, weird noises, voices, and shadow people, so that was kind of jarring to see emulated on the screen. I think what I’m saying is I recommend this.
Review by Ian West ★★★½ 2

Magick yo.
Review by Matt ★★★★ 12

The epitome of an underseen and underrated film. Masterful sound design and perfect pacing deliver a quite incredible story that is on the surface simple, yet as you'll no doubt guess it conceals something far deeper. The occult, religion (same thing lolz) and raw human emotion all collide to give a stunning climax - one of the best I've seen in a long time. Oh and did I mention for a movie set predominantly in an oldish big house - it's very easy on the eye.
Superb for your spooky season marathons...

Recent reviews

Review by Tzizzo ★★★½

never boring
66/100
Review by SrUlloa ★★★½

Sigue siendo una película muy angustiante, aun en la segunda revisión. La película no da por sentado el elemento fantástico, si no que se acerca lentamente a él. Me hizo recordar a libros como Un mundo aparte de Carlos Castaneda, que si lo leemos como novela de ficción (acaso lo que siempre fueron), produce un efecto similar. Un protagonista busca encontrar acceder a un plano paranormal del cual nunca termina de estar 100% convencido y sobre el cual el espectador tiene derecho a dudar casi hasta el final. Ese proceso de búsqueda es donde el verdadero terror de la película nace.
El final es una cosa tan fallida que cuesta entender cómo fue posible, cómo nadie dijo nada para intentar cambiarlo. Terriblemente absurdo, e impide que la película sea el clásico que podría haber sido.
Review by mattgraupman ★★★★★

Audacious, uncompromising, and beautifully grim. An A24-esque slow burner with a knockout punch of an ending.
Review by Nurcihan ★★★★★

I appreciate the COMMITMENT girl. Bravo 👏🏻👏🏻
Review by al 🐺 ★★★

scary in its ways but idk came off a bit misogynistic at times
Review by Marcelo Mendes ★★★★

A really cool movie about people trying to contact the spirit world but not your regular one. The process here takes more than an ouija board! Great cast and a positively surprising end.
Review by Ben Jacobson ★★★★

Borders on magnificent. A dour examination of those who are willing to venture into doom to attain closure for their grief. Unevenly but often strongly performed and directed, this is a rare kind of movie that dares to go as far as it can to reach its premised conclusions. The otherworldly last act could have flopped, but didn’t. Thoroughly researched, lovingly made, eerie in the best ways, and ultimately beautiful. This is a hidden gem. I loved it more than the stars on this review can measure.
Review by Bruno Daniel Moreno ★★

O final destrói tudo o que foi construído durante o filme, acaba que o filme não entrega o que prometeu lá no início. O anjo no final me deu mais medo do que qualquer outra coisa durante a história.
Review by miguellugtu ★★★★

I thought I’ve seen this but apparently not. Been coming up in the Saint Maud articles. Okkkkkk, religious ritual horror totally my jam. Two great characters, trauma issues, scary voices and a banger of an ending. Not a fan of the the horror-y creatures but thankfully it’s barely in the movie.
Review by Calamity Cascade ★★★★½

The first 95% of this movie is flawless and I absolutely love it. Magical, terrifying, I was glued to the screen. The last 10 or so minutes has some not-so-great minor vfx and a mildly disappointing ending which left the movie just short of perfect. Still worth a watch!
Review by Arkangel ★★★½

bonzinho fis
Review by missilecity

the giant ghost bitch was scary