Dark August



A disenchanted city-slicker named Sal, moves to Vermont after his divorce to pursue his passion and live a more laid-back lifestyle. But he soon becomes the town pariah when he accidentally kills a young girl who ran out of a field and in front of his car. Everyone in town, including the police, agree her death was a tragic accident, but Sal is still haunted by the incident. But he’s about to be haunted by more than just memories, because the girl’s grandfather is still royally pissed about her death, and the fact that Sal was never punished for his actions. So in order to get the revenge he so craves, he goes about putting a curse on the town’s newest citizen.



Well, it’s August now, and I found a film titled Dark August, so it seemed only right to start the month off with it. Weird how my brain works, right? Anyway, let’s get to it….

Ahem, Dark August is an American supernatural horror film from 1976, and seems to be part of a very specific genre of low-budget horror movie. Specifically, the type that gets made, and then almost immediately seems to have been completely forgotten about. Because beyond a few showings during the year of its release, it appears to have fallen into horror film obscurity. Or at least it did until around 2019 when Arrow Video unearthed it and released it as part of its American Horror Project series of films. And its apparent anonymity is kind of a shame, because it’s really a rather decent and well put together little film. But now having seen the whole thing, I can also kind of understand why it was pretty much forgotten about.


Forgotten about? With this charismatic leading man? Can’t imagine how that happened…

The movie is one of those rather sedate, rural-type horror films, kinda in the same vein as Deadly Blessings and Let’s Scare Jessica to Death. You know, the type that are kinda slow, maybe meander a bit, and are focused more on things like impending dread rather than outright scares. Do those have a name? They seem kinda prominent in the 70s, so I’m sure they have a name. Let me look and see if I can dig up a proper sub-genre descriptor here…… Ah ha! Folksy! That’s it! It’s one of them thar folksy horror films. So expect a lot of focus on things like the rural location, and the characters (or at least the main character) feeling misplaced, and the mood and the atmosphere, and all that good jazz. Yeah, it’s one of those types of films. Which may at least partially explain why this film maybe-kinda-sorta (it did) was forgotten about, cause those movies aren’t always all that popular.



So it should kinda go without saying – But I’m gonna say it anyway for clarity’s sake – that this is the type of horror movie that’s likely only going to appeal to a very specific audience, or at least those prepared for a very specific mindset. Do you like a lot of jump scares in your horror movies? Blood and guts? Action scenes involving people running for their lives, perhaps? If so, please take note that this is likely not the film for you, cause there ain’t none of that here. This here is the type of movie focused on mood. And when I say mood, I mean MOOD. So expect a lot of long pans over pretty, but secluded landscapes, people talking about their feelings, long pauses, and extended shots of characters staring off into the distance and fretting. So “action packed” this is not. There are a couple of brief moments towards the end where things are actually, you know, happening. But by that point anyone hoping for more adrenaline in their viewing experience probably gave up on the film long ago. So if you really like those “slow burn” kind of horror films, then this may appeal to you.



However, if you don’t like those kinds of horror films, then I’m afraid you’re going to find this movie horribly, painfully dull. Because there’s very little story actually going on in this film. There’s probably only enough plot in this to fill around 35 minutes, and the rest of it is essentially taken up with woodsy shots and close-ups of Sal’s worried face and hairy chest, because he refuses to button up that ONE button on his shirt.

…Well, that’s not entirely true. There is also a scene where we get to watch Sal and his girlfriend start to have sex, and several shots of them in about a dozen different, very uncomfortable looking sleeping positions, suggesting they rotate in bed more than a pair of rotisserie turkeys. But other than those awkward moments, and the ending where the town witch (amazing how every small, rural town has just the eccentric expert the protagonist needs to solve their problem, isn’t it?) does her little “anti-curse”…eh, ritual (?) there’s really not a lot going on here beyond the first few minutes, at least story-wise. And then the movie just ends without any actual conclusion, and you’re kinda left wondering what the heck just happened.


Oh, boy… With the way this guy sweats, this has the potential to lead to a VERY unpleasant wake up call.

Hell, if it wasn’t for that first scene where you clearly see the curse being cast, you could almost classify this as a psychological horror film, because Sal’s already so guilt-ridden that it didn’t take much for him to start acting loopy. Gramps seems to have spent more time and effort memorizing that ridiculous curse than it would have taken to get the job done sans-curse. Like, just ignore the guy, give him a few silent stares from across the street, and hire some tall asshole to don a cloak and ominously traipse through the woods in his backyard and – BAM! – the dude is about as high-strung as a jackrabbit on speed during mating season. Revenge achieved! And he could have done it all without having to sell his soul to the devil or demon or…whatever that thing was, in order to do it. Or, if he’d just wanted him dead he could have just shot him with that shotgun he was waving around at the end of the movie. You know, the one he actually used on someone. That would have been a lot faster and been a hell of a lot less effort intensive too…. Come to think of it, the whole curse thing seems kinda stupid if he was always willing to just shoot someone to begin with…


This is a great way to freak your neighbors out if you live in a rural area… Or get shot. One or the other.

Confusing motives and painfully plodding pacing aside though, Dark August isn’t all that bad. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it, and it’s obvious that it just isn’t going to be for everyone. Really, my greatest complaint about it beyond its non-ending ending, is that the lead is almost painfully, nay – criminally – unlikable. Not that he’s portrayed as a bad guy or anything. He’s really not (or at least he’s not when he isn’t being influenced by that demon thing). It’s just that he’s obnoxiously…well, dull and unappealing. And frumpy. And basically lacks any interesting or defining personality traits. Like, how am I supposed to relate or feel sorry for this schlub? His only good quality seems to be that he takes instruction well and without argument. Like when the witch lady told him he had to burn his precious studio down in order to help circumvent the curse, he didn’t whine, or grumble, or even call her a crazy old hack like you’d expect. Nope. Very next scene he’s burning that sucker to the ground and diligently reciting the verses she gave him. Like, good for you, my man. Glad you’re listening to experts. But I still don’t like you. *shrugs* So if you like slow, rural, atmospheric horror movies with no ending and uninteresting leading men, then good news! I’ve got the perfect film for you! But if you want a little more… you know, -excitement-, in your horror fare then you’re probably going to want to steer clear of this one. That or spend a lot of time doom scrolling on your phone as you watch it so you don’t get bored. Whatever works for you.

Dark August is available on a variety of streaming services.

Dark August is also available on Bluray, as part of Arrow’s American Horror Project Vol. 2 release, along with Dream No Evil and The Child.

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