From Black

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.

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.

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.

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.