Black Ritual

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.

Fairly cliched plot. Grieving parent, wanting to bring child back. Obviously things go wrong.

Actors did good. Detailed scenes featuring the ritual creates good intrigue. But that's all there is in the movie. A lot of build up, but it doesn't go anywhere. No real scares, pretty disappointing on the horror front. (The ritual reminded me a little bit of Fullmetal Alchemist.)

The movie also starts in the present and goes back and forth, with the main character telling us the story, but that didn't really serve any real purpose, I'm fairly certain the movie would've played out better if it was linear. The movie is primarily in the past, a flashback, and cutting back for very brief moments to the present didn't add anything to the plot.

Overall, some good moments in the beginning, but ends in disappointment. 4/10.

Total rip off of A Dark Song with a little bit of "black Phillip" thrown in for good measure. I can't imagine copying another person's work,making a movie out of it and expecting praise for it. Sure, there are some differences but not enough to let me forget where the idea for this story came from. Even the creepy music was copied and it just wasn't that creepy here. Acting was just so-so and the make up was deplorable....junkies should look like junkies and a person should be sweating after battling a demon...not perfectly coiffed. I never once was scared or had even a jolt. Writer should be ashamed.

A Dark Song is one of the most surprising movies I've ever seen. Its intense atmospheric buildup, flawed characters, and absolutely beautiful cinematography draw you in, but the film's attention to detail and reverence for its subject matter are what truly stand out.

From Black is such an obvious ripoff of A Dark Song that it's embarrassing. From bits of score that seem ripped directly from the latter film, to poorly recreated scenes, to a nearly identical story it's more than clear what inspiration the filmmakers were drawing from. If this film had absolutely anything interesting to add to that concept, I would have been extremely interested to see where it went. But it doesn't. In fact, it's almost impressive how this film butchers every single aspect of its inspiration.

The beautiful scenic vistas of Ireland are replaced with drab, ugly views of Mississipi. The old house with so much character and detail is instead a boring modern build with white walls and bland dark wood. The lighting is universally bad, with overlit exteriors and incompetently simple keylights for anything on a set. All of that is bad, but the acting is truly what ruins this film. The delicate performances of A Dark Song really draw you to the characters, who start so harsh and guarded but slowly reveal more and more of what they're truly seeking.

At their core, both films are about broken mothers desperately desiring to see their children one last time. Except From Black is afraid to even commit to that. Cora expressed trepidation at every single step of the way, too afraid and completely unresolved to actually see the ritual through. Where we see the painstaking detail of the incantation in A Dark Song - a process almost impossible to master with months of work and heavy risks - the ritual in From Black seems all too easy, with our characters connecting almost instantly with the other side.

There is truly nothing about this film that succeeds at what it sets out to do. The atmosphere is cheap, the acting is awful, and the only major change from A Dark Song (which I won't spoil here) is a truly horrible deviation from the story that steals away any tiny bit of meaning or growth our character could have. Do yourself a favor and don't waste 90 minutes of your life. Just watch A Dark Song.

From Black (2023) is a movie that was released on Shudder last week. The storyline follows a woman who became a drug addict after her son mysteriously disappeared. As she is released from the clinic and begins adjusting to society she is approached by an individual who offers to tell her what happened to her son that day, but at what cost?

This movie is directed by Thomas Marchese (Fallen) and stars Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect), John Ales (Euphoria), Jennifer Lafleur (Nope) and Travis Hammer (Godless)

This is another one of those movies where nothing happens for over an hour into the movie. The storyline, acting and dialogue were all mediocre to bad. There's some scenes that were not needed at all (the baby daddy scene). I will say the first action scene was really good. The mask, makeup and costume of the villain was solid. As the movie progresses and the main character evolves, this ends up concluding better than it starts.

Overall, this is a very average addition to the horror genre with nothing new. I would score this a 3.5/10 and only recommend it to diehard horror enthusiasts.