A rote amalgam of Catholic horror elevated by the immensely charismatic Jeffrey Dean Morgan and a stellar cast. The first half of this film is engaging, a subtle building investigation into the inexplicable with decent moments of character building and at least one intriguing question raised. There is a fair amount of atmosphere and some creepy visuals, all building to a decent sense of unease and disquiet, but then squandered with tame and predictable jump scares. Unfortunately, levels of predictability escalate, and the second half basically doubles down on recycled moments, themes and beats from better fare culminating in one of the more ridiculous reveals I have seen this year. The final “face” elicited involuntary laughter from me rather than the squirms the producer might have hoped for. Why the current crop of cinematic spooks feel the need to vogue menacingly in some cirque de demonique contortionist celebration baffles me and comes off far more ridiculous than menacing. I suppose this is also in due part to the necessity of maintaining a PG-13 rating, thus even the most ‘horrific’ sights this movie might hope to present are sanitized and effectively scrubbed of any fear. The last act is a bombastic free-for-all of bad special effects and fire with no real tension, weight or engagement, while still benefiting from a decent budget and committed performances all around. Ultimately this film is predictably paint by numbers and utterly forgettable in its banality.
The Unholy (2021)