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Plot Summary

A Dark Song (2017) Plot Summary Explained

Release, runtime and language
2017 · 100 min · English
Echo score 70
JustWatch #10,992 18
Directed by
Liam Gavin

A grieving mother, Sophia, seeks to contact her deceased son through dangerous occult rituals. She enlists the help of a withdrawn expert, Joseph, to guide her on a perilous and emotionally taxing journey. As they delve deeper into black magic, their bond becomes strained, and they confront their most profound fears and desires. The experience tests the boundaries of their sanity and explores the depths of human despair in this unsettling drama.

On this page (5)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 What happens: full plot
  3. 3 Plot questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch A Dark Song (2017)

Where can you watch A Dark Song? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on AMC+, Philo and Shudder: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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Full plot summary · contains spoilers

What Happens in A Dark Song: Full Plot Summary

The whole story of A Dark Song (2017) explained, from the opening scene to the final frame: every key event, every twist and what it all adds up to. Read it as a quick recap before the sequel, to check a scene you missed, or to finally understand what really happened.

A heartbroken Sophia Howard rents a secluded house in the serene countryside of Wales, hoping to persuade the irritable occultist Joseph Solomon to guide her through a rigorous, months-long ritual from The Book of Abramelin. This is her desperate quest to summon her guardian angel, who she means to ask about her deceased seven-year-old son. Solomon warns her that abandoning the ritual midway could spell disaster and emphasizes that she must withstand a series of arduous tasks involving real demons and angels. With unwavering determination, she agrees, enduring a multitude of grueling exercises but stands firm against the forgivable ceremony. In return for her refusal, Solomon insists she must consume his blood and partake in a sexual act as part of the ritual. After coercing her into stripping, he uses the moment for his own satisfaction, claiming it’s not tied to the ritual. Infuriated by his manipulation, Sophia retaliates by urinating in his breakfast the following morning.

As the days turn into weeks, their begrudging camaraderie begins to form. Yet, after several months of torment, a frustrated Sophia voices her annoyance at the slow progress, leading to an accusation from Solomon that she is hindering the ritual due to her dishonesty. Eventually, she confesses that her true intent in approaching the angel is to seek vengeance on those who abducted and murdered her son. That night, Solomon awakens her with a dire proclamation: her dishonesty has tainted her spirit, necessitating a disturbing rebirthing ritual in the bathtub. However, in a terrifying twist, he drowns her, recites an incantation, and revives her through CPR. Infuriated by his actions, she shoves him, causing him to tumble onto a sharp kitchen knife, suffering a grievous injury. As she bandages his wound with scarce supplies, he reveals that this occurrence signifies the ritual is becoming effective and promises her that her vengeance will come to fruition. Solomon expresses his wish to the angel—an invisible existence, away from the chaos of humanity, as he longs for peace before facing the inevitable chaos of life.

As Solomon pushes through his injury, Sophia begins to experience haunting visions and the eerie sounds of her son’s voice echoing within the house. When Solomon’s wound takes a turn for the worse, he succumbs to an infected fate, passing away quietly in his sleep. Desperate for guidance, Sophia returns to his texts, only to find them rendered illegible and heavily crossed out. Attempting to escape beyond the boundaries of the house, her car fails to start. After wandering down an empty road, she is horrified to find herself back at the very mansion she sought to leave.

Upon re-entering, she faces nightmarish demons that torment her and inflict pain, severing one of her fingers as she pleads for forgiveness. Just as despair grips her, a brilliant white light engulfs the house. In this radiant moment, she encounters a magnificent, armored angel, to whom she poses a profound request for the power to forgive. After a gentle smile from the angel, she finds hope. Subsequently, she holds a water burial for Solomon, finally releasing her burdens before driving away toward an uncertain future.

Last updated: November 09, 2024 at 11:36

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Plot questions answered

A Dark Song Plot Explained: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask most about A Dark Song (2017): what happens in the confusing scenes, why the characters do what they do, the twists, hidden details and what the ending means. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Why does Solomon drown Sophia during the ritual?

Solomon drowns Sophia as part of a rebirthing ritual meant to cleanse her tainted spirit. After Sophia confesses that her true intent is to seek vengeance for her murdered son rather than simply contacting him, Solomon explains that her dishonesty has corrupted her spirit. The drowning and subsequent revival through CPR is designed to 'reborn' her with a pure spirit so the ritual can continue. However, this violent act also represents Solomon's manipulative nature and his willingness to use extreme measures to force compliance.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Solomon warns Sophia that abandoning the ritual midway could spell disaster, establishing that he takes the ritual's integrity very seriously.

  • solomon
  • drowning
  • rebirthing ritual
  • spirit
  • Abramelin ritual
Q2

What was the true purpose of the Abramelin ritual?

The Abramelin ritual is a real historical occult practice designed to summon one's guardian angel. In the film, Sophia undergoes this months-long ritual to contact her guardian angel, initially claiming she wants to ask about her deceased seven-year-old son. However, she later reveals her true purpose: to ask the angel for the power to take revenge on those who abducted and murdered her child. The ritual requires extreme endurance, including confronting real demons and angels, and demands absolute honesty from the practitioner.

Foreshadowing: Solomon warns that the ritual involves real demons and angels, not metaphorical ones, foreshadowing the terrifying supernatural encounters to come.

  • abramelin ritual
  • guardian angel
  • summoning
  • occult
  • magic
Q3

Why does Sophia urinate in Solomon's breakfast?

Sophia urinates in Solomon's breakfast as an act of defiance and retaliation. After weeks of enduring the grueling ritual exercises, Solomon coerces Sophia into a sexual act and having him drink his own blood, claiming these are necessary ritual components but then admits they aren't actually tied to the ritual, he used the moment for his own satisfaction. Infuriated by his manipulation and exploitation, Sophia retaliates the next morning by desecrating his food.

Foreshadowing: This moment establishes the tense, adversarial dynamic between them and Sophia's growing resistance to Solomon's authority.

  • sophia
  • solomon
  • retaliation
  • manipulation
  • ritual abuse
Q4

Why can't Sophia escape the house after Solomon dies?

Sophia cannot escape the house because the ritual has created a supernatural boundary around the property. After Solomon dies from his infected wound, Sophia desperately tries to leave by car, but the vehicle won't start. When she attempts to walk down the empty road, she finds herself mysteriously walking back toward the mansion she fled. This supernatural entrapment appears to be a consequence of the incomplete ritual, the spiritual barrier that was meant to contain the demons during the ceremony now traps her inside.

Foreshadowing: Solomon warned that abandoning the ritual midway could spell disaster, and his death left the ritual unfinished, creating this catastrophic situation.

  • escape
  • house
  • trapped
  • supernatural
  • boundary
  • ritual incomplete
Q5

What does Sophia ask the angel for at the end?

When Sophia finally encounters the magnificent armored angel in a brilliant white light, she asks for the power to forgive rather than the revenge she originally sought. This represents a profound shift from her original intent. The angel responds with a gentle smile, and Sophia appears to find genuine hope and peace. She then performs a water burial for Solomon, releasing her burdens before driving away toward an uncertain future, suggesting she has chosen forgiveness over vengeance.

Foreshadowing: Throughout the film, Sophia's grief transforms from mourning to rage, but her experiences have led her to reject vengeance by the final confrontation.

  • angel
  • forgiveness
  • revenge
  • hope
  • closure
  • transformation
Q6

Why does Solomon continue helping Sophia after learning her true intentions?

Solomon continues helping Sophia even after she reveals her intent to seek vengeance because the ritual itself has become more important to him than her original purpose. When she confesses, he doesn't abandon the ritual but instead performs the rebirthing ritual to cleanse her spirit. He tells her that his injury (from falling on the knife) signifies the ritual is working toward her goal. Additionally, Solomon expresses his own wish to the angel, not for anything material, but for peace, suggesting he finds meaning in helping her complete the journey.

Foreshadowing: Solomon's isolation and desire for peace were established early, explaining why he might find purpose in guiding someone through a transformative spiritual journey.

  • solomon
  • revenge
  • help
  • ritual
  • motivation
  • peace
Q7

Why do Solomon's occult texts become illegible?

The texts become illegible because the ritual has progressed to a stage where the spiritual realm takes precedence over the physical world. After Solomon dies and Sophia desperately searches his books for guidance, she finds them heavily crossed out and rendered unreadable. This appears to be a supernatural consequence of the ritual reaching its climax, the spiritual barrier that forms around the house also disrupts the material plane, making the physical tools of magic useless at the moment of ultimate confrontation.

Foreshadowing: Solomon's warnings about real demons and angels foreshadow that the supernatural forces involved can override physical reality.

  • texts
  • illegible
  • supernatural
  • magic
  • solomon books
Q8

What happens to Sophia's finger during the demon attack?

During the nightmarish demon attack after Solomon's death, Sophia is tormented by horrific supernatural entities that inflict severe physical harm, including severing one of her fingers. This brutal attack occurs because Sophia's spirit is still tainted from her original deception about seeking vengeance rather than simple contact with her son. The demons torment her as she pleads for forgiveness, suggesting the ritual's incomplete spiritual cleansing has left her vulnerable to these attacks.

Foreshadowing: The rebirthing ritual was meant to cleanse her tainted spirit, but it was interrupted by Solomon's death before completion.

  • demons
  • finger
  • injury
  • torture
  • forgiveness
  • attack
Q9

Why does Sophia finally confess her true intentions to Solomon?

Sophia confesses her true intentions because Solomon accuses her of dishonesty, which he claims is hindering the ritual. After months of the grueling ritual, Sophia expresses frustration at the slow progress, leading to a confrontation where Solomon insists she is being dishonest about something. This pressure, combined with the emotional toll of the months-long ordeal, breaks her resolve, and she reveals that her original goal was never simply to contact her son, she wanted the angel's power to take revenge on those who murdered him.

Foreshadowing: This confession directly leads to the rebirthing ritual, as Solomon explains her dishonesty has tainted her spirit.

  • confession
  • revenge
  • son
  • dishonesty
  • solomon
  • motivation
Q10

What is the significance of Solomon's knife injury in the story?

Solomon's injury occurs when Sophia, enraged after being drowned and revived during the rebirthing ritual, shoves him in a fit of rage, causing him to fall onto a kitchen knife. As she bandages his wound, Solomon reveals he sees this accident as a positive sign, the fact that he was injured during the ritual signifies its effectiveness toward achieving Sophia's goal of vengeance. This moment marks a turning point where the ritual begins producing tangible supernatural results. However, the wound becomes infected and ultimately leads to Solomon's death, leaving Sophia to complete the journey alone.

Foreshadowing: Solomon warns that abandoning the ritual midway could spell disaster, and his death represents exactly that catastrophic outcome.

  • solomon
  • injury
  • knife
  • infection
  • ritual
  • death

Movie threads

More Movies Like A Dark Song, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes A Dark Song tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Slow burn occult horror movies like A Dark Song

Characters risk their sanity in drawn-out, dangerous occult practices. If you liked the methodical, psychologically-taxing ritual in A Dark Song, this list features similar movies where characters delve into dangerous occult practices. These films share a slow pacing, high intensity, and a dark tone, focusing on the mental and emotional toll of seeking supernatural contact.

  • claustrophobic
  • dread
  • psychologically taxing
  • unsettling
  • desperate
  • supernatural
  • Tone: dark, grim, psychologically taxing
  • Pacing: slow, deliberate, methodical
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative typically follows a linear but deeply immersive path, centered on a character's desperate goal that can only be achieved through a complex, lengthy ritual. The story unfolds in a confined space, charting the gradual physical and mental deterioration of the participants as they confront supernatural forces and their own inner demons, often leading to an ambiguous or transformative conclusion.

Why they belong together: Movies in this thread are grouped by their shared commitment to a slow, intense, and psychologically-focused exploration of the occult. They prioritize atmosphere and character breakdown over fast-paced action, creating a deeply unsettling and immersive experience centered on the high-stakes process of ritual magic.

Movies about grief and the supernatural like A Dark Song

Personal tragedy drives characters to confront otherworldly forces. For viewers who appreciated the heavy emotional core of A Dark Song, this collection features films that explore deep grief through a supernatural lens. These movies combine serious drama with horror elements, focusing on characters seeking answers, closure, or contact with the dead after a devastating personal loss.

  • melancholic
  • grieving
  • desperate
  • unsettling
  • heavy
  • supernatural
  • Tone: melancholic, dark, desperate
  • Pacing: steady, character-driven
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative follows a character, often a parent or partner, grappling with an immense and recent loss. Their journey is one of desperation, leading them to seek solutions in the supernatural realm. This journey is as much an internal exploration of guilt, anger, and sorrow as it is an external confrontation with eerie or dangerous forces, resulting in a cathartic but often ambiguous resolution.

Why they belong together: These films are united by their central theme of using the supernatural as a framework to explore the raw, complex, and devastating experience of grief. They share a heavy emotional weight, a dark tone, and a focus on character-driven drama within a horror or fantastical context.

Every angle

A Dark Song (2017) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

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