This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the work being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Summoning the Spirit takes America’s most famous cryptid, then adds a cult and a surprisingly serious tone. Carla (Krystal Millie Valdes) and Dean (Ernesto Reyes) have left the city and purchased a home in a remote forest. The two soon meet their cultist neighbors who revere the woods to a dangerous degree.
The premise sets up the city versus country dichotomy that is popular in horror. Summoning the Spirit never commits fully to this direction, however. The married couple are bemused by their new neighbors, but the focus is not about how far behind the time they are. Their leader even hosts a podcast!
Instead, Summoning the Spirit is a thriller about a marriage coming apart at the seams and a cult with a deep affection for Bigfoot. It sounds silly – and there are plenty of unintentionally goofy camera shots – but it is very well done for the most part. Director Jon Garcia (who also co-wrote the movie) keeps the atmosphere heavy. The Mountain People are creepy from their earliest introduction and bring a sense of paranoia. As beautiful as the setting is, the serenity and peace they talk about does not seem to exist.
There are some missteps along the way. There is some clunky dialogue that is distracting. Summoning the Spirit also lays the tragedy on thick in an effort to make the two leads empathetic. Still, there is nothing like it. The creative take on the Sasquatch myth makes it worth checking out.
Summoning the Spirit comes to digital and DVD August 8
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