We Summon the Darkness

Starring: Alexandra Daddario, Keean Johnson, Logan Miller, Maddie Hasson, Amy Forsyth, Austin Swift, Johnny Knoxville

Director: Marc Meyers

As Pastor John Henry Butler (Johnny Knoxville) speaks out against the wave of gruesome Satanic murders dominating the news, best friends Alexis (Alexandra Daddario), Val (Maddie Hasson), and Beverly (Amy Forsyth) head to see the heavy metal band Soldiers of Satan. In the parking lot outside the show, they see a van that had thrown a chocolate milkshake at them during their travels through the Midwest and decide to get pay back by throwing fireworks inside. Inside the van are aspiring musicians Mark (Keean Johnson), Kovacs (Logan Miller), and Ivan (Austin Swift) who are treating the concert as a goodbye party for Mark who is ditching them for a music career in California. Fueled by the adrenaline of the show, the girls invite the guys back to Alexis' dads house to keep the party going. As the night goes on, the group realizes there is more going on than meets the eye and that they could be the cult's next victims.

While it's not terribly difficult to figure out where things are headed with such a small cast, the film robs itself of any tension by revealing its hand about 30 minutes in. This could have been a fun 80's throwback horror thriller, like the recent Come to Daddy, but the early reveal leaves the remaining hour gasping for air as it tries to stretch out its premise.

Despite horror films having weak or flimsy plots, aficionados know that things can be salvaged with some creative or gory kills. Despite a decent amount of bloodletting, it is about a Satanic cult after all, the movie doesn't come through in that aspect. This is all the more disappointing when you realize a character walks around the house with a detached boat motor as a weapon and never really uses it.

The film does score some points for its casting, with Daddario playing very much against type with her dementedly unhinged performance. Another casualty of the poorly plotted script is Maddie Hasson, who must have felt she had no choice but to overact her part causing some of her line delivery to come off as comical. The group of guys are fine, but you aren't really given a reason to root for them so your level of caring about their survival will vary. What I wasn't expecting was maybe the most effective use of Johnny Knoxville. Despite only showing up on screen in the last twenty minutes, his calm demeanor and line delivery only hints at the evil that resides in his character. He almost saves the movie and I wish he'd made an appearance sooner.

I had some fun with this film, despite it only working in fits and spurts. Despite some inspired casting choices, the film makes some plotting errors that help squash its potential.

Grade: C-

We Summon the Darkness is available VOD.