#THE UNHOLY REVIEW MOVIE#

If the film has one saving grace other than some flashes of decent cinematography it’s Jeffrey Dean Morgan as our leading man. Suddenly the apparition apparitions face appears with the typical explosion in volume an almost effective scare, despite the logic of demons invading our computing devices, only to immediately have the face appear even bigger with an even bigger raise in volume.

A shining example is when our protagonist is re-watching footage of his interview and notices an anomaly. I’m not opposed to jumpscares in film as when executed well it leaves a sense of satisfaction and remembrance but here they are just layered on top of each other leaving no time to breathe and very little context to actually set them up. The sheer amount of jumpscares crammed into its 100 min runtime is impressive considering how cheap each one feels. Utterly devoid of any suspense or tension, The Unholy actively works against itself revealing too much of its CGI villain too early and conceding all mystery through clumsy exposition dumps and literal picture book diaries. I can forgive schlock but I cannot forgive wasted potential. Rather than the film exploring the idea of misplaced faith, the darkness behind miracles, or the dangers of religious fervour The Unholy is just another run-of-the-mill schlocky PG-13 horror film with no ambition other than to make its audience jump. Religion and horror typically go hand in hand with both the fantastical tales from The Bible of hell and demons as well as the atrocities committed by humanity in the name of religion, twisting it to their own twisted logic. The Unholy boasts an interesting concept based on the novel The Shrine by famous horror author James Herbert, but any intrigue is flushed out by all too familiar horror tropes and terrible execution. With that explanation out of the way we can return to describing all the failings of what I would consider the worst film I’ve watched this year. Thankfully, I’ve found a more sustainable work/life balance and will now be focusing on my mains interests, primarily this blog and its improvement. To put it frankly, I haven’t had the time I work a full-time job that has seen my workload increase to almost impossible levels which has had the knock on effect of weighing on me mentally and tiring me out. Previously I’ve taken breaks and intermissions from writing but this latest hiatus has been the longest and I feel the need to somewhat expalin myself without going into too much detail. So enraging was my viewing of The Unholy it literally ended a near 2 month sabbatical from the blog.

#THE UNHOLY REVIEW MOVIE#

Sometimes it takes a truly terrible movie to break free from a severe case of writer’s block and reignite the passion of bemoaning the art of film. At first delighted with his return to the spotlight, Gerry begins to see far more sinister signs and revelations behind Alice’s saviour. As news spreads of Alice’s story and her gifts of healing the sick, her congregation in the small New England town of Banfield spreads worldwide as the event is viewed as a modern day miracle. Synopsis: When Alice, a young deaf and mute girl, gains the ability to both hear and speak after an alleged encounter with the Virgin Mary, disgraced journalist Gerry Finn believes he’s found the story of the century.

The unholy review