ozthegreatat42330 Review of The Rosary Murders

The Rosary Murders (1987)

BAd script and slow paced but still very watchable

[6/10 · 31 March 2007]

This film is not as bad as some of the comments might have painted it. Nevertheless, it does suffer from a dull script in places. Someone is going around murdering priests and nuns, as it later turns out using the coincidence of their names matching the ten commandments (sometimes with a bit of a stretch. Donald Sutherland is a priest faced with a dilemma, as he watches these people die. The murderer has confessed to him, and after a bit of amateur sleuthing he knows who it is. But he is bound by the churches vow of sanctity of the confessional not to break the seal of confession. he is even cautioned by his fellow priests that me may not do so even to save lives. This is not Sutherland's best role because he is not given enough material to work with. Charles Durning on the other hand is right on as the hard nosed conservative priest who lives by the book with no room for compassion. He is abrupt and even down right tactless when dealing with his parishioners. Joseph Somer gives a fine performance as the police detective who knows that Father Koesler (Sutherland) knows something but also realizes he cannot compel him to share the knowledge. The clue in the case is a black rosary left in the hand of each of the victims. Father Koesler wonders if he will be next.