A film which proclaims to be a homage to the religious scare films of the seventies combined with elements of horror appears to be a recipe for a dour and dysfunctional film. Nevertheless, seeking enlightenment, curiosity drove me to view this film. I consequently found that my fears for a movie disaster were groundless thanks to a clever piece of film making by writer-director James Felix McKenney who obviously enjoyed the enthusiastic support of cast and crew in his voyage into possible dangerous and controversial territory.
I agree with Debbie Rochon who in one of the background scenes interviews expressed the view that this was a film that only an independent film maker could make. Anyone presenting this as a project to a large studio would have to face too many parties who probably would have insisted on changes to script, plot, characters, scenes etc with the result that it would have finished up as an incoherent and subdued mish mash of a film - if it was ever allowed to get off the ground. On this occasion, even with a limited budget, the director has remained faithful to his original idea without interference and the whole team evidently had faith in his ability to bring this film to a successful and entertaining conclusion.
Focus is routinely brought back to religious aspects through use of television screening of religious programmes in the background. These sometimes subtly reveal the hypocrisy, shallowness of the charade of some religious organisations and individuals who seem intent on scaring people about the dangers of getting involved in what are perceived to be sinful acts. On the other hand, the televised and 'live' appearances of the 'preacher' is brilliantly played by Angus Scrimm who clearly understands the character that he is playing. Some of his comments, especially those directed at the sinful young lady played by Christine Spencer, could provide the basis for a serious and thoughtful debate. The other regular presence comes in the form of the two demonic aides of the devil (Larry Fassenden and Brad Scobie) who contribute a humorous commentary and attempt to influence proceedings. The injection of comedy at appropriate moments, eg disposal of the body scenes, is another of the strong points of this enjoyable film. The director must be complimented on the way in which he has balanced the serious, comedic and horror elements. There are bound to be people who are going to rave in a negative way about the content of the film but perhaps this says something about their lack of sense of humour.
In addition, to Debbie Rochon, there are several other faces familiar to fans of Horror genre namely Reggie Bannister and Michael Berrymen. Personally, the outstanding performance was that of Don Wood who plays Marc who can be described as a major sinner for a lot of forgiveness will be required.
There are a multitude of characters and groups in the film but it is to the credit of the writer that they are all well defined roles and neatly integrated into the plot. There are no filler-in moments with every character or group having a contribution to the story line. The curiosity buds were certainly kept ticking along nicely whilst trying to anticipate what is going to happen next - especially with regard to the ending.
One message that finally is projected is that there are consequences of sinful actions even whilst on the road to redemption and forgiveness. T
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