A very old horror story tells the decline of Faust, who sells his soul to the devil in order to gain power and knowledge. Instead of using his power for greatness, Faust squandered his abilities on practical jokes and trivial things, so when the devil came to collect his debt, Faust realized he had lived an unfulfilled life. This old tale has been repeated over and over again in many variations (Phantom of the Paradise being my favorite), but selling your soul for stupid reasons always remains an unchanging part of the narrative. And now making its world premiere at this year’s Overlook Film Festival, Mark Meir’s THE SUMMONED attempts to add to the long list of Faustian-themed movies. Taking place over a single weekend and presenting a small cast, the movie shows what happens when people surround themselves with various types of sin and temptation. However, even though the film really tries to accomplish a lot for itself in the way of romance and lore, a lot of audiences will lose interest about halfway through, which unfortunately occurs before the story actually reveals itself.

A multiplatinum musician, a popular actress, an award-winning writer, and a small shop mechanic walk into a self-help retreat. Lyn (Emma Fitzpatrick) the musician and Elijah (J. Quinton Johnson) the mechanic arrive as a couple and Tara the actress and Joe the writer appear independently but share a messy divorce. All four want to change some part of their lives and all were summoned to this immensely exclusive retreat through mysterious letters. Elijah expresses his suspicions about the place, but his remarks go ignored because the fame of the retreat outweighs the actual results of the therapy.

One big misstep of the film is how the story stresses that fame equates to being bad and owning a small business means the person is automatically humble and innocent. Elijah is supposed to feel bad about his life because he’s not famous (like his companions). However, he still owns his own business and seems talented and happy. So, the Faustian approach to selling your soul seems poorly executed because while the other retreat-goers seem famous, a lot of the fame seems in their own minds. Tara is loud and aggressive, referring to everyone as ‘bitches,’ while Joe shows his arrogance and never misses a moment to insult his ex-wife. Lyn tries to stay grounded despite her fame, but the seclusion of the retreat reveals she abuses her power just like the others. And to guide them all we have Dr. Frost, a bizarrely eccentric man who casts his wild-eyed gaze on the four gusts and spouts self-help nonsense through his ever-smiling face.

Tension between the five characters builds as we progress into the second act as everyone seems to pile on Elijah and push him into temptations. Writer Yuri Baranovsky makes hints of devilish deals early in the film and puts in clever twists and betrayals, yet the story struggles to come together in a coherent manner. And as the weekend continues, more becomes revealed about the characters and the past. Except only Elijah seems to realize any of this. Prophetic dreams create some moments of interest in the movie, but the development of the mythology never really lands.

Debut-wise Mark Meir provides a good sketch for THE SUMMONED, but the set-up to the film drags much longer than it has to. Elijah experiences strange dreams and unexpectedly passes out (which no one seems concerned about), and while we get a creepy vibe from the retreat and suspicions run rampant, no type of plot develops until after the film’s midway point. The characters never really develop beyond stereotypes and we never even learn much about the supposed hero. I mean, Tara does a great job at being a terrible person and adds some laughs, but other than that everyone is really forgettable. The movie relies heavily on deception and treachery, but without proper character development, it’s difficult to actually feel betrayed.

XYZ Films picked up THE SUMMONED for distribution and will be releasing it sometime in July 2022.