The Corner Penthouse

We Summon the Darkness (2019) is a slasher film that takes place in Indiana in 1988. Read on to find out more...


On the way to a heavy metal concert, Alexis (Alexandra Daddario) and her two girlfriends, Val (Maddie Hasson) and Beverly (Amy Forsyth), hear a news report of a local murder believed to be tied to a series of satanic killings. After the show, the girls invite three guys (Keean Johnson, Logan Miller, Austin Swift) to join them at the estate owned by Alexis's father, Pastor John Henry Butler (Johnny Knoxville), a fire-and-brimstone preacher. What starts as a party suddenly turns dark and deadly.


We Summon the Darkness is a homage to classic 1980/1990s "teenagers in a house with psycho killers" slasher films, with a comedic and self-aware element ala Scream, though not as good. Don't get me wrong, it was a brisk way to pass 90 minutes, and it's always nice to see Alexandra Daddario, but the movie was cliched and full of plot holes. The big "twist", if you could call it that, could be figured almost as soon as the movie starts. Although it takes place in 1988, it never truly feels authentic to the time period. Maybe if it were shot on film, instead of digital, it would feel "right". The performances by the three female leads is what kept me interested throughout, as the script was severely lacking. It's worth checking out at least once, if you like the actors involved, or the genre, and you keep your expectations very low.


We Summon the Darkness is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 1:31:02. Audio tracks include English 5.1 DolbyTrueHD. The film includes English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles. (Note: Audio and subtitle info is taken from the press release as the Vudu digital copy I was given was only in English.)


Here's a list of all of the bonus features that can be found on the Blu-ray disc, according to the press release. There were no bonus features in the Vudu digital copy that was provided by Lionsgate, so I can not comment on these.

• Audio Commentary - with director Marc Meyers and writer Alan Trezza
• Envisioning Darkness - featurette

A digital copy code voucher is also included in the standard Blu-ray case. The DVD front cover makes no mention of a digital copy, so I assume that one is not provided with that release.


We Summon the Darkness is available on Blu-ray and DVD.


All images were taken from the IMDB gallery of the film. A Vudu digital copy of the movie (no bonus features) was provided by Lionsgate for review on this site.