Black Ritual

An extremely disappointing effort that has no new ideas and takes no chances. As I say in the title, it does what Bird Box did with A Quiet Place....it takes an engaging and interesting story and strips away all that made the original film (A Dark Song...which its obviously trying to rip-off) memorable. Just a really lazy effort here. Its not juat that the movie is slow (it is), but that the movie never bothers to build tension or give you are reason to care about anyone or anything in it. As others have pointed out, the main character is so stupid and selfish, you find yourself openly rooting for her to fail and be punished. One can tell that any positive reviewers are casuals and probably haven't seen many horror movies.

I was intrigued into watching this one by seeing the trailer for movie first. I am a seasoned horror fan. I have been watching horror films made from the 1920's till the present. I also watch foreign language horror films.

Occultism has taken a recent trend into mainstream and independent horror movies. I don't know what the agenda is, but films of this sort get me disturbed. Especially if the younger generation of moviegoers are watching these types of films.

This movie is about a drug-addicted mother who loses her young son while in a stupor. When she wakes up, her son is gone. Try as she might her son is never found.

Years later while in a group of similar people who are discussing their problems, a man approaches her and tells her that he knows a ritual that will bring her son back.

Desperate to get her son back at any cost the woman yields to all the man's terms. Watch the movie to see what happens next...

Verdict: the movie is not all that bad for a one-time viewing. The film held my attention through-out which is rare. The acting, photography, background-music and direction is professional. The special-effects though very meager are inspired from Clive Barker's Hellraiser. I loved the special effects however short they were in the film. This is the only plus point of the movie.

Movies like these definitely spawn a sequel and I won't be surprised if this one does. Shall I recommend another film similar to this? It's called Pumpkinhead(1988) directed by the legendary special-effects wizard Stan Winston(Predator, The Terminator, Aliens) and stars the legendary actor Lance Henriksen(Hard Target, The Nature Of The Beast, Johnny Handsome, Millennium TV Series).

I ended up quite liking this one much more than I thought I was going to. I actually really wanted to give it a 7 but there were two major downfalls that made it so I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

This movie had quite a few factors going for it. It looked quite nice with a generally antmospheric setting and had some awesome sfx and monster makeup. It also did quite a good job at having a slow pace that was tension building and not boring. There were parts that definitely could have been picked up a bit but I was intrigued and engaged throughout the movie.

Another thing I really liked about this movie was the script. I found it quite well written to the point where it stood out to me for the positive, when usually it's the opposite. There were a few clunky/cliche moments but I think that fell much more on delivery than the writing.

One of my two main issues was the acting. Unfortunately it really did not do it for me and I thought it did the movie and script a disservice on multiple fronts. The other thing was its blatant derivative plot. If you have not seen 2016s A Dark Song, it is almost identical. The only problem is... I was not in love with A Dark Song and honestly thought that From Black was more entertaining as a whole. Regardless, the feeling of it being a rip off 7 years later is for sure there.

Despite this, I still had quite a good time with this movie and if they could have done some recasting and sprinkled some originality into the story I think it could have been very successful. Would recommend.

How far would you be willing to go if you lost a child, and had a chance to bring them back?

This is what one, young, heroine-addicted mother is forced to confront in the new film From Black.

Because, after she loses her son- partially as a result of her own neglect- she's gets such a chance.

When she meets a mysterious man, who teaches her about an ancient mystical ritual, through which she can barter for the return of someone she has lost.

This man claims he learned about the ritual, after losing his own daughter.

And walks her through the steps, required to initiate an agreement, with a dark, occult force...who promises to bring her son back from the dead, once all the steps of the ritual have been carefully followed.

That is, unless, he's just a conman, who has set out to entrap her in a snare, designed to free himself from a deal he could not renege on.

Either way...it unleashes a demon, from which she cannot escape.

Inevitably landing her in jail.

Under the watchful eye of her sister, who works as a detective, that is trying to understand what, exactly, her sister has been going through...and why.

In a desperate attempt to help her.

The story is told to us told through a series of flashbacks, as our protaganess explains the situation to her detective sister.

Though, unsurprisingly, she doesn't believe her.

Until she is forced to confront her doubt, face on.

The flashbacks are broken up into the different stages of the ritual, as she went through them, on the path to achieve her goal.

Giving the whole story an air of mystery.

Of course, it cannot be ignored that this is a bigger budget, high concept, ripoff of the 2016 film A Dark Song.

I noticed a couple other reviewers commenting on the similarities between the two films.

So I went and watched it for myself.

And concur.

Arguably, they did make a few improvements...and completely changed the ending (having completely removed her redemption), in the process.

But, by doing so, they also dumbed it down, as a result of removing all the references to esotericism (Kabballah, Gnosticism); the psychedelic aspect; and character development of the guy running the ritual.

Some changes also took the forms of tweaks.

Like how they made the main character an opiate addict, instead of an alcoholic; and removed the sexually abusively, toxic, nature of the occult dude (who is actually the heroine addict in A Dark Song)- having transferred those qualities into the character of her former boyfriend.

But she's still trying to get her kid back.

The sister still plays a supporting, yet critical, role (albeit, not one central to the plot, like we have here).

And, like someone already mentioned...they even copy the jerky violin music straight from the original soundtrack.

But, while this film is wholly unoriginal...it's just different enough to not be a total write off.

Because, for one, they do improve upon the special effects.

Albeit, with CGI.

The monster has a very Del Toro vibe to it (think, Pan's Labyrinth).

Which, although, it is rendered with CGI (something I would normally hate)...it's actually not done too horribly...and doesn't come off as out of place in the film.

And, they also fashion a more clear introduction (removing the ambiguity from the opening of the original).

With Anna Camp doing a great job in the leading role.

Her torment feels genuine.

So the problem, here, is not that the film is not entertaining.

Because it is definitely entertaining enough to hold your attention.

It's just so hard to overcome how horribly they rip off the other film (which is a low budget feature, no less).

Unless you consider this a remake.

Because the plot is almost entirely the same.

Only, with the disturbing, psychological, torture, she is forced to endure, revamped.

You shouldn't be able to take someone else's original idea, dumb it down, and make a bigger budget, high concept version of it.

Without repercussions, at least.

Though, it's not inherently clear whether they purchased the rights to do so, or not.

Either way, it comes off as bad form (not to mention low class).

Although, by removing the redemptive aspect present in the original...they do make it a somewhat different film.

Transforming it into more of a true horror, as opposed to a psychological thriller.

You can tell they were trying to make it less drawn out, and remove the ambiguity, for more mainstream audiences.

But it's still far too close to the former film for comfort.

Especially if they DO straight up rip it off.

But watch them both, and judge for yourself.

See what you think.

4.5 out of 10.

Think this movie deserves higher than its current low rating. The plot, cinematography and effects were all top notch.

While in a drug addicted haze Cora's 5 year old son ends up disappearing and is never found again. Fast forward 7 years and Cora leads a life of sobriety incase her son ever did come home, she wants to be sober. Through a grief support group she meets a man who used dark magic to get his deceased daughter back and offers Cora the same chance for her boy.

By the end it's hard to believe Cora would just snub her nose and refuse to complete the final "payment" and ritual in getting her son back. Especially after going through so much preparation. This was about the time where I felt it got a bit tedious. Cora's character needed to remain steadfast in her dedication.

The plot of this movie reminds me of A Dark Song. Between the two A Dark Song is the clear winner. But this one is still worth watching, at least once. It will keep you entertained.