From Black (2023)

A film that wants very badly to be A Dark Song (2016). See, that was a good movie. This is not. Not entirely bad, but mind-bogglingly dull and mediocre, especially in comparison. This strives to be a darker-hued version of that film, sacrificing interesting characters and character development in an attempt to be darker, edgy and spookier. The entire film has its framing narrative structured to educate and reference the format of an occult ritual, telegraphing the journey the main character is attempting to undertake. Unfortunately, the main character is, by design, unlikable and unsympathetic, except where one might emphasize with tragedy that has befallen her. It is =a heart wrenching scenario and understandable how it could drive an individual to demonic extremes; however, there is nothing about the character’s subsequent choices and attitudes that seem appropriate to her drives.. However, this doesn’t make her subsequent actions orWhat is rather good is the lead Anna Camp, who delivers with conviction a career-high performance, even if the film is unworthy of her efforts. There are a handful of creepy moments, well staged scenes and interesting interplay of light and darkness, creepy apparitions and gruesome visions, but the pace is languid, the plot confused, and ultimately the script leans far too much on exposition and bad delivery than actually landing its themes. It is unfortunate, there could be a far better film here,and  even a decent rip-off of a Dark Song if any of the elements beyond the strong performances landed.

D