The Cleansing (2019) User Reviews

14th Century revenge slasher

[ncoleby · 4/10 · 14 August 2019]

This wasn't actually too bad, a girl having to go through a lot and then being accused of being a witch. This all happens in an isolated village in the middle of a Welsh forest. The girl then learns some stuff about herbalism because a plague is going round the area. If you think there can't be diversity in 14th century isolated villages in Wales, you are wrong. An extremely young merchant from far away, Africa? also just happens to stumble around this isolated, plagued area in the early middle ages. How he ended up there is anyone's guess, considering the scene did not advance the film at all, I guess it needed to be shoehorned in in order to get funding.

All in all it isn't quite up to scratch, but it is good enough to enjoy. Lots of clichees, priest is dodgy, and a big revenge ending that teaches us that we shouldn't judge someone.They call her a witch but she actually isn't. I gave it 4 because it entertained me and didn't feel like a waste of time.

Poor but entertaining in parts

[Hayden-86055 · 3/10 · 4 June 2020]

The Cleansing is a very neat looking film (on the DVD cover), the plot's basically about a plague and obviously the first suspect is a witch, people back then didn't have any idea of germs or how disease was spread so the plot in that sense is at least a bit feasible.

Unfortunately despite its decent enough premise the film fails in the fun department instead going for a more serious and therefore corny story. However, the acting whilst not the best wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and just about holds together.

Many missed opportunities for horror elements and decides to go for a more mystery based plot, with a lot of unnecessary character building scenes (especially when we find out who her new friend is) but I actually didn't mind the twist and at least it made the film a bit more memorable than perhaps it would be.

3/10: Technically a bad film but I didn't feel like I wasted my time watching this

No historical accuracy

[rhinsmsi-142-344511 · 5/10 · 17 December 2022]

Let's spoil this right off. First, most people in the 14th century could NOT read. This included the priest. Books were NOT plentiful because scribes had to write/copy them. Alice would not have burned the book due to most likely not even knowing what it was nor would her family have owned one.

Second, no one went into plague houses and killed anyone. The people locked themselves in their houses and died. It wasn't until later that people went in and removed the rotting corpses for burning. Monty Python, "Bring out your dead!" This was true.

Third, witches were not persecuted during the plague. Mostly it was the Jews.

Fourth, the bird mask didn't come into being until the 17th century.

Fifth, (and this actually deals with the movie) if the man who was caring for Alice already knew who she was, why did he care for her? Why did he teach her if his plan was to kill her all along? If he was so afraid of the plague, why didn't he check Alice and the guy who showed up? Why did he kill him in such a "ritualistic" way? What was he smoking/eating to have visions? That's not something men would have known as women were the gatherers of the time.

The movie would have been better had the writers stuck to a more historical accuracy. I gave this a 5 as it entertained me, but caused me to really think about how much better it would have been.

Cleansing

[pugwash-59874 · 1/10 · 25 August 2019]

Absolutely diabolical .waste of money.didn't go into enough details about characters in the movie

waste of time

[akratosmc · 1/10 · 7 December 2019]

The movie is a waste of time, boring, absolutely no sense plot, not even a horror film.

Sub-par folk revenge

[stoob0t · 4/10 · 25 January 2022]

The Cleansing seems to have arrived in a wave of moody folk-horrors rushed out following the success of The Witch (Robert Eggers; 2015)

The plot is fairly solid. A young girl is a accused of being a witch and its up to the village "cleanser" to determine whether she is and cleanse her of her curse.

The film is a slow burn through the first two-thirds, but picks up pace in the final act.

It's atmospheric and well shot, with a decent score that underpins the mood, but doesn't show much variation. At times, this score is a bit too much and there are definitely moments which would benefit from either no background score or something more subtle.

The acting in the most part, and across the lead roles, is solid. The dialogue, on the other hand, has some questionable moments which feel clumsy and insincere.

As the film reaches its finale, the pace rapidly picks up, but at the same time some of the performances take a nose dive. There is at least one death which strongly channels Hot Fuzz 'am-dram' Romeo & Juliet, but unironically.

Overall, it's a film built on a neat story, which takes its time to build a decent atmosphere, but is ultimately let down by some inconsistent performances. Still worth a watch if you have the time.

Terrible..Predictable.. stereotypical..

[yosefherpderp · 1/10 · 1 August 2020]

Everything that happens is so predictable and unrealistic and the script writer is mostly to blame for this atrocity.

Ehh

[missmartimar · 3/10 · 8 July 2020]

It had a really good start to movie. Great story line and a little different from some movies. I love biblical type movies but the middle and end of this movie was horrible. It was extremely slow. The ending wasn't satisfying.

Not a movie for the mainstream, mindless audience...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 6 June 2020]

I had not heard about the 2019 movie titled "The Cleansing" prior to getting a chance in 2020 to sit down and watch it. I didn't know what the movie was about, all I knew was that it was sort of a horror movie.

And that was actually all that was needed to have me sit down and watch it. However, I must say that the movie was fairly weak in aspect of being a horror movie, but it fared much better on being a historical drama with a hint of susperstition and thriller to it.

Now, you might actually debate whether or not writer David Shillitoe was on to something profound with his storyline and script. I assume that it is something that will not appeal broadly to everyone in the audience, given the movie's sort of low rating. However, I found the storyline to be interesting, especially since it had roots in something that felt like something that might very well actually have happened if you take a look at mankinds history.

I must say that the atmosphere in the movie was phenomenal. I really liked what director Antony Smith did here with the assistance of the cinematographer and the film crew. The whole movie had a very realistic and foreboding atmosphere to it, that sort of crept under the skin and sticks with you for a while.

The movie's pacing might be considered slow to some, and yeah I will admit to it too. There were aspects and parts of the movie that were just too monotonous and too slowed down, weighing the movie unnecessarily down.

As for the acting in "The Cleansing", well it was a movie with a relatively small cast ensemble, so the performers had to be more on constantly and had to carry the movie significantly more with their individual performances. Now, I am not familiar with the previous work of actress Rebecca Acock (playing Alice), but she really had a nice on-screen charisma and carried the lead role quite well.

If you have any interest in witchcraft, superstition and historical aspects of what happened in the older times, then "The Cleansing" is definitely well worth a watch. I enjoyed the movie, and I am rating it a six out of ten stars.

More like a joke

[zhyarTheChosen · 4/10 · 4 March 2020]

What was the purported of this movie it is just a description of nothing

Compelling folk horror ...

[parry_na · 8/10 · 10 March 2020]

We can't all like the same things, can we? I rarely comment on other reviews, but I am sorry to see such negativity directed toward 'The Cleansing' - especially as the slow-burning nature that repels some people is exactly the reason I like it so much. That and the fact that it is well made, beautifully shot and very powerfully played.

A kind of cross between a 14th century 'I Spit on your Grave (1978)' and 'Witchfinder General (1968)', this story finds wayward teenager Alice (a great performance from Rebecca Aycock) spurning the advances of Priest Tom (Rhys Meredith). Humiliated, he does his best to convince the small village that the girl is a witch and as such, has to undergo gruesome torture to prove her innocence (or not). Right there we have another example of an alleged man of the cloth using his position to behave in a most ungodly way. But he is not a monster, just a weak, pathetic man whose spite takes things beyond his control.

Alice is an enigma, played with real gusto. That she does not speak for a sizeable portion of the story makes it hard for the audience to decide if she entirely innocent, which is a decent red herring. Not so successful is the arrival in the midst of events, of a stranger (Luke Bailey). He comes and goes without ever affecting the storyline.

Alice's journey is a slow-burner, but by the third act, enters into satisfying horror territory. Never overtly graphic, the scenes of violence and gore are successfully employed, and the characters - even the minor ones - are interesting enough for us to be invested in their (often grisly) fate. The title character is a good, powerful-looking monster, and he proves himself to be far more than the brooding killer you might expect him to be.

Kudos to all concerned at High Fliers Films for this good-looking folk-horror project. I thoroughly enjoyed it. My score is 8 out of 10.

Better Than The Rating Indicates

[Freedom060286 · 7/10 · 20 September 2020]

I enjoyed this film, it was never boring for me. It's definitely better than most low-budget movies.

The settings in the forest and small village were nicely chosen for this type of movie, and the costumes are realistic for the historical time setting. And there is nothing seriously wrong with the plot, the direction, the acting or the screenwriting.

Wut?

[chevelle-57843 · 3/10 · 3 July 2021]

The "twist ending" is so confusing. Is she still tripping, or....?

The killing parts were awesome. The lead was great. I'm just confused as all hell.

Was ok

[takato0524 · 4/10 · 7 May 2021]

I understand some people wouldn't like this. It is slow and drags on and makes you have to connect your own dots, but it wasn't that bad. Only a few minor complaints from me.

1: why the twist of the man in the woods (which was obvious) AND the twist of the girl actually being a witch?

2: did Mary know the whole time/was she a witch too?

3: who was the woman in the lake that "made" Alice a witch? Was this alluding to Mary?

4: did the only black guy have to be treated like that, and killed off, and killed off off screen?

Everything else was ok. Not a big blockbuster aaa hit, but not so terrible you'd cry.

Classic Mistake

[twelve-house-books · 1/10 · 25 March 2021]

Time and again writers and directors make the mistake of conflating Christendom with original Christianity. They are plastic oranges and real oranges, respectively--only similar in that they both invoke the name of the Christ. Sometimes, though, a hatred for Christ backfires, as with the original version of The Wicker Man where, though the film was designed to poke fun at Christianity, the martyr shines for Christ and the overall message becomes a call to die for Jesus and the promise of eternal life. In the case of this film, though, the message is a muddled mess, though for an independent film the acting was good. It is unfortunate that the protagonist, originally a sweet girl (except for her temper, as with many teenagers) feels forced to become a servant of evil--a witch. Overall, a real waste of money, effort, and time.

Exceptionally Fun Ride

[wolfen244 · 9/10 · 31 December 2020]

I loved this little low-budget gem and you will too once you get involved with it. It's a bit slow for some folks. The heroine is not real verbose however her face tells more than a bunch of dialog and let's face it, her face is quite alluring. Where was I? On to the movie review. There's a lot of tension because of Tom the reverend not wanting to give up the chase so it's always in the back of your mind about what might happen at any given time. The fellow from Africa gives this a bit of a spin on things even though at first it seems as if Hollywood is trying to inject its usual liberal garbage as you wonder if the next shoe to drop will be Climate Change, but nope, there's a reason. The strange part is the Cleanser himself as you will have to make up your mind whether or not it strains the ending a bit or if it's really worth it. I really liked the ending even it was a bit predictable with all of the gore. Regardless, just grab some popcorn, fasten your seat belt and get set to have a little fun.

A rightful revenge movie

[kaushikb-9888 · 8/10 · 10 April 2022]

This movie is far better than an average rating of mere 4.4. It's a pleasant coincidence that I stumbled upon this movie today. Someone expecting malevolent spirits haunting the village or a teenage witch chanting mantras in the middle of a forest with a candle burning next to a human skull, will be sorely disappointed. It is as much about science and religious dogma as much as it is about not turning the other cheek and let go the perpetrators of evil scot-free.

This synopsis is inaccurate

[InnocencexLostx · 10/10 · 4 February 2022]

The mother is never tortured, she is however murdered within the first five minutes. Her daughter Alice is tortured and goes through the witch trials. And the cleanser has nothing to do with the torture.

Alice is amazing!

[eupnxqsw · 10/10 · 18 January 2021]

Loved this film! The leading lady who plays the part of Alice is so talented I love it!! Really takes you on her journey and you can't help but agree with everything she does!