The Summoning (2014)

Meandering through shadowy forests with dark figures lurking

Six college students decide to celebrate on the weekend at a rural barn party in the heart of Florida, but they’re forced to walk the woods to their destination. Unfortunately, evil is prowling about.

"The Summoning" (2014) is surprisingly proficient for its $200,000 budget and no-name actors. The setting is similar to "Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things" from 42 years earlier, and "Zombie Island Massacre" from the mid-80s. At heart, it’s a survival venture akin to the comic Adventure Into Fear #18 with the Man-Thing (1973), which featured the story "A Question of Survival" by Steve Gerber and, like this film, involved survivors of a vehicle mishap traversing the jungle at night for succor. The difference is that this mixes-in the occultic antagonists of 70’s flicks such as “Race With the Devil” and "The Brotherhood of Satan.”

If you’re in the mood for horror-in-the-woods adventure and can roll with the low-budget cartoonish CGI, this is worth checking out. Unfortunately, the female cast is serviceable, but subpar IMHO. Amy LoCicero as blonde Shelley is decent and Elaine Hoxie as brunette Gisele is a’right, but she has an off-putting short haircut.

The flick runs 1 hour, 28 minutes, and was shot at the University of Central Florida in Orlando and just north of there in Winter Park and Sanford.

GRADE: B-/C+