While Blumhouse Productions may command most of the public’s attention, IFC Midnight keeps churning out equally, if not more noteworthy horror flicks, such as Liam Gavin’s A Dark Song.

Yet due to the arguments in this piece, it probably would’ve made for an even better play on the stage. In addition to all the points posited therein, theatre has always been the prime artistic medium to explore this story’s “illusion vs. reality” backbone. What’s the difference between a “real” seance and performers going through the same motions on stage, especially considering how much method actors believe in the truth of their performances? Such rituals feel a lot scarier when they’re occurring in the same space as the audience, and that additional fear may have compensated for some of the movie’s flaws. The most egregious one that a character-based medium could’ve rectified: the script beats of the journey undergone by the female lead (played effectively by Catherine Walker) need to be clarified to sell her arc.