Despite Prime Video’s recent shift away from Africa, the streaming service continues to release titles developed or licensed through pre-existing agreements. One of the latest additions is A Song from the Dark, a supernatural horror film directed by Nigerian filmmaker Ogo Okpue, in his feature debut.

Produced by the Nigerian-British production company Adverto Studios, A Song from the Dark follows a woman who, after the mysterious death of her husband, hires a spirit hunter to rid her family of an evil phantom. However, the hunter is unaware of a dark family secret that complicates their mission.

The film’s ensemble cast includes Nse Ikpe Etim, Wale Ojo, Vanessa Vanderpuye, and Garcia Brown. Following its tour on the film festival circuit, including stops at the American Black Film Festival and the Pan-African Film Festival.

After the mysterious death of her estranged husband, a woman hires a reluctant spirit hunter to expel a malevolent spirit tormenting her family. Unknown to the spirit hunter, the family has a dark secret that they have sworn to keep hidden at all costs.

A Song from the Dark is part of a personal journey to push original storytelling and filmmaking from the African diaspora to wide global audiences,” Okpue said. “The cast and crew are second-to-none and collectively we have made something very special that audiences will love. The film is an homage to my heritage, to the global black community, and my British Nigerian family.”

Okpue, whose previous works include short films like Saving Cain and Cat Face, draws inspiration from his childhood experiences and traditional stories he heard from his grandmother. He noted, “The inspiration of the story dates back to a certain period of my childhood when my family would visit my grandmother in our village. She happened to be a well-respected traditionalist.

Tales of her would intrigue us and as I grew older, I regretted not knowing her more. She was an enigma and I wondered what it would have been like if some of her tales were captured in books.”

He emphasized the significance of African storytelling in global cinema: “America has Superman and Ironman, the United Kingdom has James Bond and Harry Potter. Japan and China have Flying Swordsmen and mystical Ninjas, and India has tones. What do we have? I think in Africa, our superheroes have slept long enough. African stories are as diverse and as entertaining as the continent itself, so I thought ‘Why not add more African heroes to the fictional world of cinema?’”

A Song from the Dark will debut on Prime Video on July 12, 2024. See the trailer below.