Cults and Religious Frights!
By
Kristin Battestella
Rural
or international, old school, medieval, or modern – these tales of
good versus evil, devils, voodoo, and cults provide enough unique
horrors and spiritual frights.
The Church – Three films claim to be Demons 3 in the somewhat confusing Italian Demoni series. Fortunately, this 1989 Dario Argento produced stand alone sequel opens with galloping knights versus witches, scary organ music, demonic signs, prophecy, torches, and head chopping slaughter. So what if it is kind of small scale, the helmets look like spray painted buckets, and kids literally have baskets on their heads! Crosses, stonework, church bells, Gothic spires, and gargoyles bring the medieval ecclesiastic yet sinister atmosphere to the modern day prayers, Biblical quotes, maze-like catacombs, and dusty library tomes. The titular temple was built to sanctify mass burials and keep evil caged below, and the tale sticks almost exclusively to the sanctuary setting as Indiana Jones temptations for buried treasure lead to coded parchments, architectural clues, suspicious altar sounds, and ghostly horses. A crusty old bishop, the new librarian reading backwards Latin, an art restorer cleaning morbid murals, the rebellious custodian's daughter – innuendo, icky saucy, and nasty behaviors increase as evil seeps out over this interesting variety of trapped people also including a school trip, one bickering old couple, and a couture photo shoot. Even dripping water becomes suspect once the bloody spouts, blue smoke, booby traps, gruesome deaths, and reptilian hands spread evil manifestations and infestations. Frightening confessions, decaying bodily possessions, literal bleeding hearts – today's audiences may not appreciate the slow burn one by one, but knowing it is just a matter of when adds to the robes, stained glass, rituals, and chanting. How can one fight the bestial Satan when he's entered the hallowed itself? Although the past and present connections can be confusing and remain unexplained beyond a happened before and will again warning, the skeletons, gory bodies, wings, and horns make for a very wild finale. This picture is not shy with its imagery nor its parallels – the demons only escape because human corruption was already there, using unleashed horrors to remind us that it's safer to leave well enough alone.
Sacrifice
– Radha Mitchell (Pitch
Black), Rupert Graves
(Sherlock),
and David Robb (Downton
Abbey) star in this 2016
adaptation of Sharon Bolton's novel beginning with brisk New York
pregnancy emergencies before moving to Scotland's great mountains,
rocky coasts, and end of the world island isolation for an adoption.
Standing stones, jokes about mistaking “runes” for “ruins”,
and talk of Druids, Normans, and ritual sacrifice pepper the scene
setting job interviews, hospital tours, and dinner with the wealthy,
well-connected, but secretive in-laws. A dead animal on the property
reveals a buried body, and our lady obstetrician butts into the
police investigation of this bog discovery, studying creepy photos
and x-rays of the corpse to suggest the victim had recently given
birth before her insides were excised. Quality science, Tollund Man
references, and flood clues jar against trow myths, unique folklore,
and inscription evidence. The authorities don't want to hear any of
that old sacrificial talk, but these mothers and lady cops are
intelligent women talking about history and murder rather than men or
gossip. While the well-paced, multilayered investigations may build
the spooky versus facts with suspicions and tense cloak and dagger,
this is not an overt horror picture. The story here feels caught in
the middle when it should have been either a straight crime drama or
gone with all out fantastics. There are some plot confusions as well
– who is who and all the details aren't totally clear, leaving an
abrupt end with serious unanswered questions. Fortunately,
surveillance, shadows, chases in the dark office at night, and lights
going out add suspense. Late wives, a clinic full of pregnant but
anonymous women – who doesn't want this medical mystery solved and
why? This is a small island, and not being in on its secrets can
prove fatal with dangerous bridges or fiery car accidents. Body
switches, clandestine interviews, identifying tattoos, hidden
passages, and bagpipes tossed in for good measure seemingly tidy the
case, and a likable, mature cast anchors the maternal fears and cult
demands of this unique little thriller.
Voodoo Moon – Charisma
Carpenter (Angel),
Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator),
Dee Wallace (The Howling),
and John Amos (Good Times)
anchor
this 2006 blend of
voodoo motifs and Biblical parallels with crows, skulls, casting
stones, flooded steeples, rusty sickles, and naked chicks strung up
on crosses. Yowzah! Evil shoehorns itself into a decaying body where
it doesn't really fit or belong, and mausoleums add a whiff of New
Orleans macabre alongside a few flayings alive and backwoods
Tennessee mood. Tested faith, psychic connections, and prophetic
drawings escalate as this team of multi-faith mystics with varying
gifts come together against possessed priests and a devil in their
midst. Some flashbacks and character backstories are hokey, but the
better seen than told addresses the absurdity of “some psychic holy
war against the devil.” An old bed and breakfast sanctuary
sheltering the fun and likable cast also makes up for the lame,
trying to be suave villain – most of the time here is spent with
the people battling such evil elements rather than spectacle wham
bam. Granted, when we do have them the fire and lightning effects are
meh; the music is over the top, zombie henchman are confusing, loud
effects are bemusingly bad, and weak humor or evil exposition get
corny fast. There are silly floating in the air battles, unused
underwater possibilities, unnecessary people, and unexplained powers
– how does the good guy
have all the same powers as the bad
guy? This introductory, at times light or blasé
feeling over the decidedly dark themes and supernatural character
focus with potential for more seems almost like a backdoor pilot,
which could have been an interesting series. I wasn't expecting much
and the title is misleading, however, the audience gets invested in
the fight fast. We care about the people in this avenging religious
battle and want to see them through their demons both real and
fantastic.
Split
Call
Children of the Corn 666: Isaac's Return
– Black
silhouettes and orange sunsets open this 1999
sixth installment branching from the original Stephen King source
with Stacy Keach (Prison
Break), Nancy Allen
(Robocop), and
an adoptee born on Halloween returning to her Gatlin birthplace.
Despite car accidents, bizarre police, warnings to leave, and a Bible
toting hitchhiker quoting Hannah name origins and Samuel prophecies,
the snooping about town goes on undeterred with snotty hoteliers,
creepy hospital machines, and road rage chases. Unfortunately, slow
motion, obnoxious music, and town in on it scares meander in the
first half with dusty scenery and corn mazes cluttering the plot
holes rather than setting the rural mood. Poor bookend narrations
don't help the pointless filler, nonsensical moments, and padding on
the standard new person in town sacrifice/pregnancy we know to come.
Although the teen rule is juvenile by design, dated millennial looks,
hip lingo, a lame sex scene, and fake shocks are DOA – dead birds
and bloody writings don't add spooky atmosphere but delay the
inevitable with silly visions and laughable visuals. The golden
patina looks like October, but the palette is often too dark to see
the crazy patients and ward action. Creative or vengeful deaths don't
get anywhere until the finale, and the adult characters deserved
more. The ties to the initial film, however, remain interesting. The
devout waiting for Isaac to rise from his coma and these children of
the children plots should have happened sooner in the series, as now
the audience is left scratching our heads wondering how and when a
comatose boy had the time to get busy. The hospital horrors,
insemination fears, and outdoor rituals come too late to correct the
connections to the first film, leaving this a predictable, messy not
scary tale in need of a watertight rewrite. Everyone has Children
of the Corn
movie they prefer or loathe – mine is the bad glory of Urban
Harvest –
yet each entry feels pretty interchangeable. This leg is good in a
fall marathon of the series when the details are fresh in your mind,
but one also has to let logical thought go to have fun here.
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