The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
A Dark Song
Horror · Fantasy · Mystery · 2016
A determined young woman and a damaged occultist risk their lives and souls to perform a dangerous ritual that will grant them what they want.
Movie details
A Dark Song
“Not everything can be forgiven.”
2016 Horror · Fantasy · Mystery 1h 40m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.3 / 10
Community rating
A determined young woman and a damaged occultist risk their lives and souls to perform a dangerous ritual that will grant them what they want.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over A Dark Song?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
The Watchers
Fantasy · 2024
A young artist gets stranded in an extensive, immaculate forest in western Ireland, where, after finding shelter, she becomes trapped alongside three strangers, stalked by mysterious creatures each night.
Gretel & Hansel
Fantasy · 2020
A long time ago in a distant fairy tale countryside, a young girl leads her little brother into a dark wood in desperate search of food and work, only to stumble upon a nexus of terrifying evil.
Pumpkinhead
Fantasy · 1988
When a group of teenagers inadvertently kill his only son, Ed Harley seeks the powers of a backwoods witch to bring the child back to life.
Hide and Seek
Horror · 2005
David Callaway tries to piece together his life in the wake of his wife's suicide and has been left to raise his nine-year-old daughter, Emily on his own. David is at first amused to discover that Emily has created an imaginary friend named 'Charlie', but it isn't long before 'Charlie' develops a sinister and violent side, and as David struggles with his daughter's growing emotional problems, he comes to the frightening realisation that 'Charlie' isn't just a figment of Emily's imagination.
The Night House
Horror · 2021
Reeling from the unexpected death of her husband, Beth is left alone in the lakeside home he built for her. Soon she begins to uncover her recently deceased husband's disturbing secrets.
The Unholy
Horror · 2021
Alice is a young hearing-impaired girl who, after a supposed visitation from the Virgin Mary, is inexplicably able to hear, speak and heal the sick. As word spreads and people from near and far flock to witness her miracles, a disgraced journalist hoping to revive his career visits the small New England town to investigate. When terrifying events begin to happen all around, he starts to question if these phenomena are the works of the Virgin Mary or something much more sinister.
Apostle
Horror · 2018
In 1905, a man travels to a remote island in search of his missing sister who has been kidnapped by a mysterious religious cult.
Fear Street: 1994
Horror · 2021
After a series of brutal slayings, a teen and her friends take on an evil force that's plagued their notorious town for centuries.
Oddity
Horror · 2024
After the brutal murder of her twin sister, Darcy goes after those responsible by using haunted items as her tools for revenge.
The Blackcoat's Daughter
Horror · 2017
Two young women at a prestigious prep school are assailed by an evil, invisible power when they're stranded over winter break.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Liam Gavin
Written by
Liam Gavin
Catherine Walker
Sophia Howard
Steve Oram
Joseph Solomon
Mark Huberman
Neil Hughes
S
Susan Loughnane
Victoria Howard
N
Nathan Vos
Jack
M
Martina Nunvarova
Guardian Angel
B
Breffni O'Connor
Emaciated Man
Court is in session
Put A Dark Song on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.