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  • Writer's pictureKelly M. Hudson

Heavy Metal and Satan!



Set in the late 80s, three rocker babes are on the road heading to a concert by one of their favorite bands. Alexis (Alexandra Daddarrio) is the leader and the oldest, with her faithful blonde sidekick Val (Maddie Hasson), she of the weak bladder, and newcomer to the group, Beverly (Amy Forsyth), who’s a bit shy and reserved about their all-girl road trip. They listen to music, talk about boys, and chatter a bit about the rash of Satanic ritual murders that have been happening throughout the country, all tied to heavy metal. They even listen to a famous preacher (Johnny Knoxville) on the radio sermonizing about this very thing. Eventually the girls meet a group of three rocker dudes in the parking lot before the show. There’s Mark (Keean Johnson), who is leaving for California soon, Ivan (Austin Swift), the big affable guy, and Kovacs (Logan Miller), the charming and loveable drunk. They all hit it off and go into the show together, having a blast to a weird hair metal band blasting a Mercyful Fate song. When the concert is over, they decide to keep the party going, and they head out into the middle of nowhere. Alexis’ stepmother’s house is empty, the family having left for a trip, so no one is home and they can get their freak on. And that’s when things take a turn for the worse for both crews of metalheads.


Heavy metal and horror? Sign me up. Heavy metal, horror, and comedy? I am there. It was a no-brainer to watch this movie and I was not disappointed. There have been quite a few films who have combined these worlds and most of them have done so to terrible effect. Yeah, I love those 80s flick like Rocktober Blood and Black Roses, but to be honest, most of them actually stink. The only really good one is Trick or Treat, and even that one is cheesy as hell. Recently we’ve gotten movies like The Devil’s Candy, which is about as excellent as it gets, as well as things like Lords of Chaos, which really crosses a bunch of different genres and isn’t specifically horror (although there’s plenty of that in there, for sure). So what about We Summon the Darkness? How does it stack up?


Pretty damned good. The movie is a lot of fun and has a few nice twists and turns. The characters are all well-drawn and acted and the blood is thick and syrupy. If you’re a fan of any of what I’ve written above, then count yourself in. Clever and smart, this reminded me a bit of more recent fare like The Babysitter and Better Watch Out, because you can never really trust who is who and what is what. You really feel it when people die, whether it’s funny or tragic, and that’s something that a lot of movies strive for but utterly fail at delivering. We Summon the Darkness is a great little movie with lots of moxie, lots of laughs, and plenty of blood. You can’t go wrong here.

★★★☆


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