Welcome to Screen Gems, our weekend dive into queer and queer-adjacent titles of the past that deserve a watch or a re-watch.Bisexual occultist Aleister Crowley shocked the world with his self-professed powers of black magick and with his knack for blending kinky sex with his creepy rituals.
Though he died diseased, drug-addicted and broke in 1947–which suggests his powers had their limitations–his influence continues to reverberate in religion and pop culture today.That brings us to this below-the-radar screen gem, which borrows heavily from Crowley’s teachings…and his love of kink.
2016’s A Dark Song follows the story of Sophia (Catherine Walker), an Irish woman mourning the death of her young son. In her desperation, she turns to Joseph.