![]() Next to the trying Morgan and the suitable Brown, William Sadler (as a local priest) and Katie Aselton (as a doctor who befriends Fenn) provide serviceable work, not entirely embarrassing themselves in the process, with the same unable to be said about Cary Elwes’s appearance as a Bishop brought in to determine whether or not Alice’s claims are legitimate. It’s a shame that by the time said sinister spirit is wreaking havoc on the unsuspecting townsfolk, the film has failed to truly captivate, so we ultimately don’t really care about what’s unfolding on screen. It isn’t long before Alice’s claims come under suspicion though, with an ominous presence making itself known throughout that pushes Gerry to investigate the town’s history a little further, resulting in some typical dialogue about good and evil and CGI-enhanced jump scares that are insultingly tame credit where it’s due though, The Unholy does offer up some frightfully impressive designs when it comes to the reveal of the sinister spirit at hand. For a town driven so drastically by faith, Alice’s supposed power is immediately responded to in a God-like fashion, and visiting journalist Gerry Fenn (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, doing the best he can with a tired script) sees this as an opportunity to advance his career, and not being a man of faith means if he believes it that it has to have some merit. What’s even more frustrating is that The Unholy is actually working with a premise ripe with potential, one that centres around a small New England town and the supposed Holy intervention that has caused a deaf girl, Alice (Cricket Brown), to suddenly be able to hear and speak.Īlice is claiming she has seen visions of the Virgin Mary and that she is being used as a vessel to spread the good word and perform her own small miracles. Sadly for writer/director Evan Spiliotopoulos, The Unholy practically checks off every box of genre cliches throughout its 99 minute running time that audiences could practically foretell what’s going to take place before they even set inside a theatre. ![]() ![]() Instead, works of excellence will be noted with a Critic’s Pick designation across all coverage.One thing filmmakers never want their film to be considered is predictable. In the interest of consistency across all critics’ reviews, The Globe has eliminated its star-rating system in film and theatre to align with coverage of music, books, visual arts and dance. The Unholy opens April 2 in Canadian theatres, dependent on local health restrictions. But for Easter 2021, I was hoping for something a little more enjoyably demonic and less been-there-redeemed-that. It is not as if The Unholy is poorly-made trash – though its visual effects hint at a lower-than-low budget – it is just that Spiliotopoulos has no genuine interest in Herbert’s complex themes yet all the time in the world for head-spinning genre predictability (but not in that fun Exorcist kind of way).Įventually, The Unholy reveals itself not to be an entertaining ride to Hell but an earnest sales pitch for the power of Christ. If you have seen just one demonic-possession movie, you will know exactly what happens next beat by beat: mysterious deaths, ghostly voices and one big moment of spiritual reckoning. Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Cricket Brown star in The Unholy, which is out just in time for Easter. I can’t say that arc will apply to The Unholy’s filmmakers, though.Īdapting James Herbert’s 1983 novel Shrine, filmmaker Evan Spiliotopoulos turns a potentially compelling examination of faith and mass hysteria into a by-the-numbers jump-scare effort. But don’t worry – righteousness will still overcome evil, and all repentant sinners shall be redeemed. Instead of celebrating Christ, here is a movie that revels in the sinister. Which makes this week’s new release The Unholy a curious, if ultimately logical, flip on tradition. Most Easter weekends at the movies are come-to-Jesus moments: opportunities for Hollywood to pander to their evangelical flock with faith-based titles that preach to the choir. Starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Cricket Brown and William Sadler.Written by Evan Spiliotopoulos, based on the novel by James Herbert. ![]() Plan your screen time with the weekly What to Watch newsletter.
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