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 (090420)
Heavy Metal, the occult, and horror have been intrinsically linked since Black
Sabbath put out their first self-titled LP in 1970 (some say this was the first
full-fledged true metal album.) So, it should not be too surprising that a whole
slew of horror films have used metal concerts as backdrops or metal music on
their soundtracks.
This included the cult made for TV hit, Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park
(1979), Hard Rock Zombies (1985), Trick or Treat (1986), Black Roses (1988), the
Megan Fox vehicle Jennifer’s Body (she was gigantic back then) from 2009, and Deathgasm (2015). But the best of all was the Spanish metal themed dark
comedy/apocalyptic terror flick, Day of the Beast (1995).
Now along comes We Summon the Darkness, a spanking new hit slasher film with a
twist that takes place (at least partially) at a metal concert. The film is
currently streaming on both the Netflix and Amazon Prime platforms and even includes some quasi
romantic/flirty dialogue about individual metal bands and musicians. It has been
a sizable hit and it was on various Top 10 films viewed lists for a while, but I
think this has more to do with its fresh good-looking cast rather than any great
originality in its story.
If you want to see a truly engaging mindless horror film with some of the same
themes you may want to watch The Babysitter (which is also on Netflix) instead.
We Summon the Darkness was made by Mark Meyers, who was probably best known for
his previous film, My Friend Dahmer, which wasn’t half bad. He shows some
promise with his work in this film (there are some good, well mounted scenes),
but I don’t think he has truly come into his own yet. Also, the way he meshes
comedy and gore does not always work (Sam Raimi is much better able to balance
the two.)
The main characters are a trio of Indiana teens/20 something
women in 1988. They are constantly looking for mischief and cheap thrills. They
seem vapid and essentially mindless, but appearances could be deceiving. Alexis (Alexandra Daddario from American Detective Story) is the rich, snobby
alpha metal female. Val is her kooky, spontaneous buddy (played by Maddie Hasson
from the HBO series, The Finder) who must go to the bathroom frequently and
basically goes along with whatever Alexis wants. Beverly (Ann Forsythe, the
Ontario born actress who was in Channel Zero) is shy, withdrawn, and morally
conflicted which is not surprising since she is a poor street girl that the
other two basically adopted. Viewers might be forgiven if the women's basic
relationship reminds them of the main characters in Heathers and even more so
the protagonists in The Craft. There is a leader, a follower and a rebel.
A few things occur in the beginning which foreshadow some future turns in the
film. A front-page newspaper headline that agitates Beverly mentions how a
series of seemingly Satanic serial killings is taking place near there, and a
local wealthy pastor (who reminds me of Pat Boone) says he is going to pray in
reaction. Alexis says something odd then. She argues that the story should only
frighten other people and not them.
The three wild women meet up with three decent but dopey male metal fans at the
concert. There is Mark (Keenan Johnson who was in
Alita: Battle Angel and reminds me of a young Chris Cornell), Ivan (Austin Swift of
Braking for Whales and real-life brother of Taylor Swift) and Kovacs (Logan
Miller from Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse.) The trio had earlier thrown
a chocolate milk shake which splattered all over the girl’s windshield (what
gentleman).
There ends up being a bloody conflict between the two groups with at least one
member switching sides, but if I gave away more it would ruin the film. Needless
to say, the film has a few surprises, but the surprises aren’t that big or
impossible to guess for careful viewers.
Although I did not have a terrible time watching the film and with its hour and
a half-length it went by quick enough. But cannot quite bring myself to
recommend it. It was not terribly special, and I doubt I will remember anything
about it in a year or so. But I would not be surprised if some of the people
involved would go on to better things, and if you are a horror/metal fanatic
there are many worse ways to spend your time.
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