We Summon the Darkness (2019)

Director: Marc Meyers
Writer(s): Alan Trezza
Starring: Alexandra Daddario, Keean Johnson, Maddie Hasson, and Amy Forsyth

We Summon the Darkness is yet another movie that prevents me from going into much detail about the plot, without the possibility of ruining a key plot twist that - admittedly - isn’t entirely unforeseen. However, the marketing details intentionally go out of their way to avoid mentioning it, so I will respect their wishes and do the same.

Alexis and Val are two heavy metal-obsessed gals who take a third, Bev, under their wing. The three of them travel the city, attending music concerts. During one gig, they bump into three boys at the same show; there’s undeniable sparks between a couple of them. So the girls decide to host an afterparty at Alexis’ dad’s house, which the boys agree to attend…and that’s when all hell breaks loose.

Oh, and perhaps I should mention that there have been a string of satanic-themed murders gripping the town; the body count is up to 18, and leaving the community stricken with terror. Of course, this will play a role at some point. (While this is also left out of marketing materials, this isn’t really a spoiler since it’s mentioned within the first five minutes.)

Plot twist aside, We Summon the Darkness is woefully predictable and average in just about every regard, with a feeling of deja vu permeating every scene; there’s nothing here that anyone with any experience in horror hasn’t seen before. Since the "big reveal" is disclosed somewhere around the half-hour mark (maybe a little sooner), the filmmakers play their entire hand early, then let the film slowly run out of gas the rest of the way. That being said, there are some appropriately gushy gore sequences that should manage to satiate fans of that kind of thing, at least for a short while. I would definitely consider myself among the ranks of such fans, but the blood - while bountiful - wasn’t frequent enough to completely hold my attention.

The acting is pretty good across the board, but the real surprise is Alexandra Daddario as Alexis. I first saw her in an episode of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and let’s just say, to see her is virtually to fall in love with her. She has a unique look, one that stands out from the rest of Hollywood sameness, yet is captivating nonetheless. Here, she really gets to flex her acting muscles in an unexpected way, and I have to say that it caught me off guard. I expected a more subdued effort - the way big name actors always seem to approach horror films - but she clearly gives it her all, with impressive results. She still has the safety net of a horror movie with comedic elements (where solid acting is never a requirement), but her performance would feel just as home in an exercise in pure horror. Johnny Knoxville is also good, but in a much more muted role. Who knew he could act in genre fare?

Unfortunately, any momentum it manages to create is completely undone by its fervent monotony. What is it with horror films these days retreading each other in such uninspired fashion? I suppose it’s not just an epidemic limited to the horror genre, but it’s a disappointing state of affairs for cinema in general. I would chalk it up as a result of the pandemic - where people are just happy to go out and see anything, since they couldn’t for the longest time - but this was actually made in 2019, before that was even a thing. We should honestly be demanding more out of our movies besides the same ol' thing.

If you’re a die-hard fan of Daddario, I would say there’s enough here to justify a watch, especially if you’re also a fan of the horror genre. However, just about everyone else should probably take a pass…Netflix’s library is too expansive to waste your time on below-average efforts like this.

RATING: 4.5/10

TRAILER