The Summoned – Film Review

Two high profile couples are forced to examine the cost of success when they’re invited to an exclusive self-help retreat where their ancestors sold their souls generations prior.

It’s always best to give a filmmaker the benefit of the doubt whenever you watch one of their films that just so happens to be bad. Perhaps something went wrong in the script department. Things weren’t fine-tuned to the point they should’ve been. Maybe the film played out a million times better on paper than it does on screen. There are multiple things you can consider. But no matter which way you look at it, Mark Meir‘s The Summoned is an extremely bad horror film with a weak, bland, and predictable story that often divulges into nonsensical territory.

Not to mention the fact that it’s simply not scary, either. It’s not even remotely unsettling or creepy. Meir’s direction often feels hugely like a bad version of Jordan Peele‘s style. To be honest, a lot of this film’s atmosphere reminded me of Get Out. Heck, there are even some scenes (early on especially) that are eerily similar to that film, which, by the way, is heaps and bounds better. I’m glad that Meir had some inspiration for this project, but it kind of felt too similar for my liking.

It also doesn’t feel like there are any real stakes in this story, which is honestly a huge problem since the story revolves around some seriously messed-up stuff. This could’ve been a haunting film about trauma and grief, but instead, it feels tonally confused. All of the “horror” sequences here are completely unscary, and lack any sort of tension whatsoever. A great horror film should leave you feeling uncertain around every corner. What could possibly happen to our leads? In this film, our characters feel extremely disposable.

This is because the character development on display is lacking. Screenwriter Yuri Baranovsky spent a lot of time focusing on other elements of the film but, in doing so, forgot to make sure that the audience actually cares about our lead characters. Whenever it seems as though they are in serious danger, it’s hard to feel legitimately worried for them. They simply feel like disposable characters.

The performances here, however, are quite great. J. Quinton Johnson is amazing in the role of Elijah, as is Emma Fitzpatrick as Lyn. Together, these two shine on screen and it’s clear that they’re highly talented people who will hopefully have exciting futures in the industry. Unfortunately for them, The Summoned is not the kind of film that will get them a lot of recognition. Here’s hoping they get some projects down the road that’ll be worthy of their names.

The Summoned isn’t the worst horror film out there, and it’s not even the worst of the year so far. It is, however, definitely not worth your time.