Liam Gavin’s directorial debut, A Dark Song Movie, isn’t your typical horror flick filled with jump scares and predictable tropes. Instead, it offers a chillingly realistic and meticulously detailed descent into the occult, a slow-burn experience that lingers long after the credits roll. This film has carved a unique niche in the horror genre, prompting discussions and analyses that delve into its unsettling atmosphere and profound themes.
In this exploration, we dissect the making of A Dark Song movie, drawing insights from an exclusive interview with writer-director Liam Gavin. We’ll uncover the inspirations, the challenges, and the artistic choices that shaped this compelling piece of cinematic horror.
The Genesis of Darkness: From Real-World Rituals to Reel-World Terror
The inception of A Dark Song movie was sparked by a conversation about the stagnation in modern horror. Gavin recounted how a development executive lamented the overreliance on vampires, possessions, and zombies, yearning for fresh, innovative narratives. Serendipitously, Gavin stumbled upon a documentary about Aleister Crowley, the infamous occultist, and his performance of a lengthy, complex ritual within a house in Scotland.
This real-life ritual, mirroring the one depicted in the film, became the foundational concept. Gavin was struck by the “bonkers” nature of the ritual and its contained setting within a single house, making it a surprisingly “affordable bonkers thing to do” from a filmmaking perspective. This blend of esoteric ritual and practical filmmaking considerations became the fertile ground from which A Dark Song movie grew.
Grounding the Occult in Reality: A Social Realist Horror Approach
Gavin’s approach to A Dark Song movie was far from sensationalized or fantastical. Drawing from a brief personal fascination with the occult during his youth, he understood that the reality of occult practices differed vastly from popular portrayals. His vision was to present the occult through a “social realist” lens.
Catherine Walker in A Dark Song Movie
He aimed to depict the arduous, often mundane, and emotionally taxing journey of engaging in such rituals. For practitioners, Gavin emphasized, “it’s as much about the journey as it is about the result.” This commitment to realism is what distinguishes A Dark Song movie, transforming the occult from a source of supernatural spectacle into a framework for exploring human desperation and psychological endurance.
The Slow Burn and Atmospheric Pressure Cooker
Rejecting the trend of jump-scare driven horror, A Dark Song movie deliberately adopts a slow-burn pace. Gavin describes the film as being “about a wait,” emphasizing the prolonged tension and gradual unraveling of the characters. He consciously crafted it as a “reaction to the jump scare films,” prioritizing atmosphere and a sense of mounting pressure.
He likens the film’s atmosphere to “having someone stand directly behind you all the time,” a constant, unnerving presence that intensifies as the ritual progresses. This pressure cooker environment is not only external, stemming from the demanding ritual, but also internal, fueled by the characters’ emotional baggage and increasingly strained relationship.
Character-Driven Horror: Sophia and Solomon’s Uneasy Alliance
Gavin was determined to make A Dark Song movie a character-driven narrative, a dimension often sacrificed in jump-scare focused films. He wanted the audience to deeply connect with Sophia and Solomon, making them feel like “a third character” within the claustrophobic confines of the ritual house.
The characters of Sophia and Solomon underwent significant evolution throughout the writing process. Initially, Sophia was conceived as a younger, 17-18 year old girl seeking to contact her deceased brother. Solomon, in early drafts, was a more benign figure. However, Gavin made crucial changes to amplify the film’s dramatic and thematic depth.
Steve Oram as Solomon in A Dark Song Movie
Making Sophia older, in her 30s, established a dynamic of equals, albeit uneasy ones. This age shift empowered Sophia, ensuring she wasn’t simply a vulnerable victim. Solomon’s character was deliberately molded into a more abrasive and damaged figure, a “bully” designed to exert maximum pressure on Sophia, enhancing her ordeal and testing her resolve. Yet, the film subtly charts a softening in their relationship as they endure the ritual together, hinting at an unexpected connection forged in extremis.
Casting Conundrums and Fortuitous Finds
Casting the lead roles in A Dark Song movie presented unique challenges, particularly for Sophia. The script contained a scene so disturbing on paper (deliberately redacted here to avoid spoilers) that it deterred many actresses. Some even feared the film was engaging with actual occult practices, mirroring anxieties surrounding The Exorcist.
Catherine Walker, a renowned Irish theatre actress, emerged as the ideal Sophia. Gavin recognized her suitability almost instantly during her audition. Conversely, casting Solomon involved a longer, more circuitous route. After another actor departed the project, Gavin’s persistent encounters with Steve Oram on television led him to consider Oram as a fated choice. Oram’s previous roles in The Canal and Sightseers demonstrated his range, and he ultimately proved perfect for the complex role of Solomon.
Crafting Character Depth Through Backstories
Gavin prioritized imbuing Sophia and Solomon with rich inner lives. He dedicated four to five days to intensive work with Walker and Oram, focusing on character backstories. Having developed detailed chronologies for both characters during the writing phase, Gavin tasked the actors with fleshing out the specifics.
Behind the scenes of A Dark Song Movie
He then interviewed them as their characters, prompting them to articulate their histories and motivations. This immersive process allowed Walker and Oram to fully inhabit their roles, bringing a weight of lived experience to their performances. Gavin believes that characters should arrive on screen “full up,” carrying the burden of their past, a stark contrast to the often-empty cyphers populating genre films.
Tight Schedules and Visual Precision: The 20-Day Shoot
Filming A Dark Song movie was an exercise in efficiency, completed in a mere 20 days. Gavin’s background as a storyboard artist proved invaluable. Having meticulously storyboarded the entire film, he arrived on set with a clear visual blueprint for each scene, maximizing their limited shooting time.
Despite the film’s dark and intense subject matter, the production itself was remarkably harmonious. Gavin recalls a set free of arguments or shouting, a “very very pleasant experience” despite the time pressure. The interior house was filmed in a mansion in North Dublin, ironically surrounded by a council estate, a detail consciously excluded from the film’s visual frame. The house itself was strangely cold and unnerving, even in July, adding an unexpected layer of atmosphere to the shoot.
Sculpting Tension in the Edit: Pacing and Atmosphere
Achieving the film’s deliberate pacing was a crucial aspect of post-production. While the script development focused on the characters’ relationships, the editing process became about refining the film’s rhythm and atmosphere. With a wealth of footage from a single location and many scenes relying on silence and subtle actions, the editing offered considerable flexibility.
Scenes initially intended for one part of the film were often repositioned elsewhere, as Gavin and his team meticulously “manipulated the whole thing so that it sang right.” Extensive testing with viewers helped identify and resolve pacing issues, particularly in the initial stages of the ritual, ensuring the tension steadily escalated.
Inspirations: From Social Realism to Japanese Horror
Gavin readily cites a diverse range of influences that shaped A Dark Song movie. He aimed to fuse the social realism of filmmakers like Alan Clarke and Mike Leigh with the atmospheric dread of Japanese horror. Visually, he drew inspiration from Counter-Reformation painters like Caravaggio and Rembrandt, known for their dramatic use of light and shadow.
This eclectic mix is encapsulated in his playful pitch: “It’s Ken Loach does The Exorcist.” Films like The Exorcist, A Tale of Two Sisters, Dark Water, and Snowtown served as touchstones, particularly for tone and atmosphere. The Exorcist, a personal favorite, resonates deeply with Gavin due to his Catholic background.
Poster of A Dark Song Movie
Beyond the Darkness: Future Projects
Gavin’s next project returns to North Wales, the setting for A Dark Song movie. This upcoming feature delves into the realm of drowned children returning from the dead, described as an ensemble piece and Gavin’s unique take on the zombie genre, promising another departure from conventional horror tropes.
A Lasting Impression of Darkness
A Dark Song movie stands as a testament to the power of atmosphere, character development, and meticulous craftsmanship in horror filmmaking. It’s a film that burrows under your skin, not through cheap scares, but through its unsettling realism and exploration of profound human emotions within the framework of the occult. Liam Gavin’s debut is a compelling invitation to delve into the darkness and confront the disquieting depths of the human psyche.
