Even if you didn't have a fondness for slow-burning 70s occult horror, writer/director Martin Goldman's eerie, paranoid nightmare of satanically simmering hatred, demonic possession, dark-hearted revenge and the quixotic, life-destroying forces of evil has an abundance of ominous set pieces, some fine dramatic performances from a clearly committed cast of sterling actors and the breathtakingly beautiful backdrop of Stowe, Vermont is both a soul and imagination stirring delight!

After moving to the wide-ranging rural splendour of Vermont to begin a new life with his pretty girlfriend Jackie (Carolyne Barry) Sal Devito (J. J Barry) suffers a terrible, doom-auguring road accident which has the most monstrous psychological and spiritual repercussions that very soon warps his waking life into an anxiety-ridden, paranoiac, macabre vision manifesting, reality tormenting nightmare, being unnervingly convinced that the malevolent author of all this torment is the grief-stricken old man McDermott (William Robertson) and with Devito's beleaguered mind reaching breaking point finds he has only one last hope for succour, the white witch Adrianna Putnam (Kim Hunter) who must then place herself in the most dire jeopardy in order to successfully banish this increasingly baleful spirit darkly born of such uncontrollable hatred.

Martin Goldman's undeniably creepy occult melodrama has an authenticity and credibly earnest approach that is far more effecting than the blandly hysterical, jump-scare murder marathons of today. 'Dark August' takes its sweet sinister time, simmering malevolently like all genuinely macabre tales should, the vast open expanses of Vermont only seem to oppressively increase the debilitating sense of existential despair he experiences as his hexing intensifies, these inexorable forces of nature, elephantine in stature and unknowable to man's paltry, narrow thinking finally erupting in a preternatural climax of otherworldly terror! Arrow Video are to be congratulated rescuing yet another previously neglected fright fest, lovingly restoring it for the edification of horror fans who still appreciate quality storytelling, genuine mystery and a little humanity with their blackened cauldron of celluloid grue.

"Dark August" follows a New Yorker living in rural Vermont who becomes a small-town pariah after killing a young girl in a car accident. Even worse, the girl's grandfather seems to have set a curse against him, unraveling his life and sending an ominous hooded demon to stalk the woods outside his house.

Released to apparently little fanfare and unearthed by Arrow Video last year in their volume 2 "American Horror Project" Blu-ray box set, "Dark August" is an odd duck. While watching the film, I consistently had the sense that I was watching something that should have been mildly revered amongst genre fans had it received an adequate release. The film, despite its low budget, is slickly made and looks like a professional studio endeavor, at least so far as low-budget horror is concerned.

To some degree, "Dark August" embodies the neo-genre of "folk horror," a signifier that has grown more common in recent years. For a film about witchcraft and the occult, it has a very down-to-earth sensibility, but this also makes the scares feel almost too close to home for comfort. It's a moody and atmospheric affair that has a lot in common (both tonally and stylistically) with its New England-set peer "Let's Scare Jessica to Death," albeit with less narrative nuance. In "Dark August", the audience knows indubitably that supernatural goings-on are at work, and the source is clear from the outset.

The demonic presence that taunts the protagonist appears as a cloaked, faceless figure that meanders through the woods, and the presentation of it is bone-chilling. Director Martin Goldman sets these scenes in pure silence, and uses clever cutting techniques to give the audience the sense that this figure is lurking behind every tree. For extra measure, there are abundant shots of the leafy Vermont hills illuminated at dusk, and the inherent unease of the landscape only magnifies the sense of dread. It's truly the stuff of nightmares.

Acting-wise, the film is also fairly solid, with J. J. Barry and Carolyne Barry (a real-life couple who co-wrote the screenplay) as the leads. Their performances feel grounded, ostensibly helped by their deep involvement in the project. The film's real "star" is Kim Hunter, who appears as a clairvoyant white witch figure who attempts to help the protagonist rid himself of the demonic energy that has been thrust on him; her acting is very naturalistic here, and Hunter never lets the character devolve into archetype, which could easily happen in a film like this.

The only real pitfall for me in "Dark August" was the conclusion, which felt a bit hamfisted and abrupt, but I ultimately think that everything else outweighs this minor shortcoming. For fans of regional, downbeat supernatural horror (bordering more on psychological),I cannot recommend "Dark August" enough. It is a thoughtfully-made effort that manages to evoke a sense of true disquiet--the kind of horror that feels like a bad dream. 8/10.

Obscure horror flick about a Mikhail Saakashvili lookalike stalked by the grandfather of girl whom he accidentally killed. There's certainly nothing significant about "Dark August", unless we interpret it as a '70s time capsule.* What I mean by a similarity to Robert Altman's movies is that one scene has two groups of people simultaneously carrying on conversations. Of course, I might be the only person who interpreted that. Otherwise, I would never think to equate this movie with Altman's films.

Anyway, this flick is just a way to pass time. Starring J.J. Barry, Carole Shelyne and Kim Hunter.

*In the past month, four 1970s icons have left this life: David Carradine, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.