‘From Black’ Review: How Can Summoning Demons Be So Boring?

When making a film, it is vital to know what kind of story you are trying to tell. Does my story have enough going on for a featured film? Does my story need more time to develop its characters and world? Does this story need to be a movie? These are just some of the questions a filmmaker might ask themselves before embarking on the enterprise of making a movie. It is not an easy task, but identifying the format that will help the story be the best it can be is vital, as we said before. From Black is a new horror film that might have asked the wrong questions.

The film is directed by Thomas Marchese, and stars Anna Camp, Jennifer LaFleur, John Ales, and Travis Hammer. The film tells the story of Cora, a mother who has suffered the worst a mother can experience: losing a child. However, when a mysterious man approaches Cora with the opportunity to have her son back, Cora takes the chance without knowing that she will step into a world that will ask the most out of her. As Cora descends more and more into this dark world, she might realize that the price is too steep.

Horror movies are some of the best movies to experience in a theater. If the movie does right and manages to hit the scary strings of each audience member, then the air becomes electric. Sharing that kind of experience with others is quite unique. However, to make something like that happen is not an easy task, and a horror movie would have to have a great story, and every single component of the film would have to be working on the highest of levels.

From Black certainly tries to be this kind of horror movie. It also tries to be more than just a scary experience. It tackles some very heavy psychological themes such as grief, mental health, and how to recover from a traumatic experience. It all sounds very good on paper. A movie that can take those elements and work them and at the same time be able to be scary would be amazing. Sadly, From Black fails at almost everything. This is a horror movie with no scares, or that doesn’t deliver any sort of fearful atmosphere and is also pretty boring.

It might sound harsh, but while watching this movie, I only thought about why so many movies are being made nowadays with such weak scripts. Scriptwriting is an art. To be able to conjure a story that feels complete in about 90 minutes is a hard thing to do. Lately, most movies that end up being made and launched in cinemas and straight to VOD feel more like treatments that went directly into filming. These movies feel like ideas that could be developed into something great but were not given a chance.

From Black tries to create an arc around its main character, using this theme to propel the growth of her character throughout the movie. This sounds like a great idea, but then you realize that the movie is taking its time. The character talks and reveals things about themselves, but nothing feels meaningful enough. It is all a set-up for a twist that will come later in the movie, but when the revelations finally happen, the movie acts as if it is a bigger revelation than it actually is. There is nothing new here, and you can see it a mile away.

The entire movie seems to be designed around this “twist,” but there is nothing more to it. Because the movie is so centered around making this “twist” work, it forgets that we should feel something for these characters. We should hate or love them, but I could only feel indifference during the entire runtime. The movie’s glacial pace doesn’t help, either. At one point, you might wonder where this movie will go, not out of curiosity but because nothing is happening on screen.

Technically, the movie is well-shot. There is nothing brilliant about any of the visuals. The entire color palette feels like a movie from the early 2000s, and the cinematography is uninspired. You can see that Marchese and his team know how to make a movie, but their efforts landed in a place where the movie feels uneventful and boring. This takes me back to the start of this review. Is there enough story here for a featured film? Not really. From Black shouldn’t be a featured film. A short film would have worked best for this type of story.

Of course, short films work better as calling cards. A way to let people know that the team can deliver when it comes to delivering a film. Movies sell, movies can make money, and it seems someone thought this could make one. For that to have actually worked, this script needed a couple more drafts. The story needs to be able to progress in meaningful ways throughout the entire movie, and themes and characters need to be developed if the intention is to take these ideas to a conclusion. As it is, the movie feels aimless.

Anna Camp is definitely the best thing about the movie. Throughout her career, she has proven to be able to do basically everything. Camp is mostly known for her exemplary goody roles, but she also excels at more serious roles. Her role here is not easy; her character is meant to go through a lot, and she takes on the challenge with gusto. This is why it is sad to see her character go nowhere, and her efforts make me feel a bit redundant.

From Black is, sadly, not a good movie. It shows many shortcomings when it comes to developing its themes and characters. The horror elements are present throughout, but better ways exist to implement them. There are some “The Witch” influences here and there, but that movie is very far away from this one regarding quality. It might be something here to enjoy for hardcore horror fans, but this might be a hard pass for most audiences. Anna Camp absolutely deserves better.

SCORE: 4/10