When this movie was released theatrically, I thought I'd wait until its video release because of the awful reviews it initially got. Well, I finally got around to renting this out on DVD and boy was I glad I DIDN'T see this at the movies.
The movie itself runs for approximately 97 minutes, but it will feel like it has run for 5 hours once the closing credits run across the screen. I really like Winona Ryder, but her movie roles she has been choosing as of late have been rather questionable. This one pretty much takes the gold medal for 'worst career choice'.
This movie doesn't really know what it wants to be. "Stigmata 2", "The Exorcist Returns", "The Omen: The New Beginning", "End Of Days II", etc. It takes bits and pieces from about 10 other films that deal with exorcism, devil possession, apocalypse derived from religious texts, etc., that it actually feels like you're watching something you've already seen before.
Ryder is a young school teacher who was once 'possessed' by the devil. She assists Father Lareaux (played by John Hurt), the man who presides over the convent where she resides and teaches, in performing exorcisms. We even get to see one at the beginning of the movie that takes place in an asylum. Unfortunately, this particular exorcism backfires and renders Hurt into a catatonic state of mind. The unfortunate subject of the exorcism itself was not 'cleansed' of his demonic possession and therefore extends his character to be used at a later time in the movie.
Meanwhile, Ryder studies the notes that were scribbled by the exorcism subject and discovers that Satan will take possession of a human (Ben Chaplin) on his 33rd birthday. The movie doesn't really delve into Ben Chaplin's character. All we discover is that he is an author of a novel that focuses on the trial of a serial killer. He seems to be an all-around nice guy, but the dialogue doesn't allow the viewer to discover anything more about him. Ryder's character comes off as being rather dull. A series of shocked facial expressions, bad hair and running around in the rain is all we really get to know about her.
So basically this movie has introduced us to two characters that we don't really care about. One must save the other from being possessed by the devil. And that's what the next 80 minutes or so of the film tries to accomplish without putting the viewer to sleep.
I remember reading somewhere a long time ago that when this movie was being filmed, several re-writes actually took place during shooting of the film, and the ending was re-shot after test audiences gave it a 'thumbs down'. If it was any worse than the ending that WASN'T left on the cutting room floor, then I can't possibly see how bad it could have been. Basically, Ryder's character comes to a resolution that includes a loaded gun and the penultimate moment when Chaplin's character is possessed by Satan.
Several times during the viewing of this movie, I checked my watch. I looked at the back of the DVD case to see how long it ran for. I even spent some time trimming my toe nails. The photography in this movie was bleak. Everything came off as either being 'grainy' or dark. I felt like I was sitting in a cold latrine whilst watching the movie. There wasn't anything about the script that really kept me interested. The acting was below par and none of the actors could inject any character into their characters.
This movie was really a waste of time. Never have I been so disappointed in the outcome of such a dreary film. I really thought something could have been made out of the 'ending' had someone really sat down and thought about it. Give this one a miss folks.
2/10
The movie itself runs for approximately 97 minutes, but it will feel like it has run for 5 hours once the closing credits run across the screen. I really like Winona Ryder, but her movie roles she has been choosing as of late have been rather questionable. This one pretty much takes the gold medal for 'worst career choice'.
This movie doesn't really know what it wants to be. "Stigmata 2", "The Exorcist Returns", "The Omen: The New Beginning", "End Of Days II", etc. It takes bits and pieces from about 10 other films that deal with exorcism, devil possession, apocalypse derived from religious texts, etc., that it actually feels like you're watching something you've already seen before.
Ryder is a young school teacher who was once 'possessed' by the devil. She assists Father Lareaux (played by John Hurt), the man who presides over the convent where she resides and teaches, in performing exorcisms. We even get to see one at the beginning of the movie that takes place in an asylum. Unfortunately, this particular exorcism backfires and renders Hurt into a catatonic state of mind. The unfortunate subject of the exorcism itself was not 'cleansed' of his demonic possession and therefore extends his character to be used at a later time in the movie.
Meanwhile, Ryder studies the notes that were scribbled by the exorcism subject and discovers that Satan will take possession of a human (Ben Chaplin) on his 33rd birthday. The movie doesn't really delve into Ben Chaplin's character. All we discover is that he is an author of a novel that focuses on the trial of a serial killer. He seems to be an all-around nice guy, but the dialogue doesn't allow the viewer to discover anything more about him. Ryder's character comes off as being rather dull. A series of shocked facial expressions, bad hair and running around in the rain is all we really get to know about her.
So basically this movie has introduced us to two characters that we don't really care about. One must save the other from being possessed by the devil. And that's what the next 80 minutes or so of the film tries to accomplish without putting the viewer to sleep.
I remember reading somewhere a long time ago that when this movie was being filmed, several re-writes actually took place during shooting of the film, and the ending was re-shot after test audiences gave it a 'thumbs down'. If it was any worse than the ending that WASN'T left on the cutting room floor, then I can't possibly see how bad it could have been. Basically, Ryder's character comes to a resolution that includes a loaded gun and the penultimate moment when Chaplin's character is possessed by Satan.
Several times during the viewing of this movie, I checked my watch. I looked at the back of the DVD case to see how long it ran for. I even spent some time trimming my toe nails. The photography in this movie was bleak. Everything came off as either being 'grainy' or dark. I felt like I was sitting in a cold latrine whilst watching the movie. There wasn't anything about the script that really kept me interested. The acting was below par and none of the actors could inject any character into their characters.
This movie was really a waste of time. Never have I been so disappointed in the outcome of such a dreary film. I really thought something could have been made out of the 'ending' had someone really sat down and thought about it. Give this one a miss folks.
2/10