Netflix’s Playing Gracie Darling Revives the Magic of Occult Horror – Here’s How

At a time when mainstream horror often relies on loud jump scares, CGI monsters, and overstimulating sound design, a quieter, more unsettling form of fear is finding its audience again. Occult horrorbuilt on mood, suggestion, and emotional vulnerabilitycontinues to captivate because it taps into deeply personal anxieties rather than visual shock value.

Netflix’s latest Australian thriller, Playing Gracie Darling, is a strong example of this powerful genre revival. Across its six tightly written episodes, the series blends dual-timeline investigation with a haunting mystery rooted in teenage curiosity. At its core lies an evergreen horror trope: a séance that goes terribly wrong.

Interestingly, the show is based on an original script by Miranda Nationrather than an adaptationgiving the creators creative freedom to modernize classic occult rhythms without restrictions.

An Unsettling Cycle That Refuses to End

The plot follows Joni Grey, a child psychologist haunted by the decades-old disappearance of her childhood best friend, Gracie Darling. Gracie vanished nearly thirty years ago during a séance in a remote cabina moment that grew into local folklore and inspired teens to create a dark party game bearing her name.

The series moves fluidly between two timelines: 1997, when Joni and her friends first contacted a mysterious entity called “Levi,” and the present day.

When Gracie’s niece, Frankie Darling, suddenly disappears under eerily similar circumstances while participating in the game, Joni is forced to return home. Teaming up with Jayher childhood friend turned police sergeantshe attempts to untangle decades of denial, fear, and secrecy that have haunted the Darling family and the town at large.

The Power of the Ordinary Turning Sinister

From classics like The Exorcist (1973) and Rosemary’s Baby (1968) to contemporary hits like Talk to Me (2022), occult horror stands apart because it distorts the familiar instead of relying on external threats.

Unlike monster or slasher films, occult stories weaponize the everydaycreaking floors, hidden trauma, family secrets, and, in Playing Gracie Darling, a teenage séance game. These elements make the terror feel disturbingly intimate.

This sensibility is clear in the show. Gracie’s disappearance didn’t involve a demonic creature crashing into reality. Instead, it unfolded during a spontaneous teenage ritual, powered by a simple spirit board and the curiosity to contact the “other side.”

Fear, confusion, and lifelong trauma followed. The simplicity of the ritualand its widespread recognitionmakes the experience relatable. After all, Ouija boards, tarot cards, and séance kits are common items often dismissed as harmless. But in this story, crossing an invisible boundary unleashes consequences far more terrifying than expected.

Modern Storytellers Who Master Silent Dread

The revival of occult horror signals a shift in what audiences craveemotionally rooted fear rather than visual brutality. Films like Natalie Erika James’s Relic (2020) use supernatural ambiguity to explore topics like inherited trauma and aging. Here, the entity is intertwined with dementia, blurring the line between haunting and human suffering.

Similarly, Robert Eggers’s The Witch (2015) strips horror down to puritanical anxieties and psychological decay. Instead of loud scares, the film relies on creeping dread birthed from isolation, paranoia, and religious fear.

Playing Gracie Darling echoes these works by prioritizing tension over spectacle. The show understands that a whisper in a dark room is often far more terrifying than a scream in daylight.

Where the Supernatural Meets Brutal Reality

One of the series’ greatest strengths is the way it blurs the divide between supernatural presence and human malevolence. As Joni retraces the events surrounding both disappearances, the show allows viewers to believe wholeheartedly in the haunting tied to the spirit “Levi.” The town, too, clings to the supernatural explanationit is easier to blame a ghost than acknowledge human wrongdoing.

But the final episodes reveal a grim truth grounded in realitya truth shaped by patriarchy, manipulation, and abuse rather than paranormal forces.

This narrative shift reflects a hallmark of modern occult thrillers: the moment the ghost story transforms into a crime drama. Ultimately, Playing Gracie Darling suggests that while the supernatural may terrify, human cruelty remains the most plausible monster.

The Fear of History Repeating Itself

At its heart, the series taps into a universal fearthe idea that trauma is inherited, passed from one generation to the next like a curse. Gracie’s disappearance marks the beginning, but the horror lingers for decades as the next generation unknowingly reenacts the past through the dangerous ritual-turned-party game.

The cyclical nature of the eventssecrets repeating themselves, mistakes echoing through timegives the narrative its chilling emotional core. The true darkness lies not just in the forest or the cabin, but in the unresolved grief and silence that shapes the town’s identity.

Playing Gracie Darling proves that the old formula of occult horroran intimate group, a forbidden ritual, and a traumatic legacystill holds immense power. By avoiding excessive spectacle and focusing instead on emotional roots, familiar environments, and the thin line between curiosity and danger, the show reminds us that the most terrifying evil is often the one we unknowingly invite into our lives.