THE UNHOLY : Tuesday 20th April 2021.

'THE UNHOLY' is an M Rated American supernatural horror film which I saw at my local multiplex earlier this week. Written for the screen, Co-Produced, and Directed by Evan Spiliotopoulos in his film making debut, this is based on the 1983 novel 'Shrine' by the acclaimed British horror author James Herbert. Released in the US earlier this month, the film has so far grossed US$11M off the back of a US$10M production budget and has generated mixed Reviews so far. Sam Raimi Co-Produces here.

The films opening sequence is set in 1845 with the execution of a woman for witchcraft. She is hoisted up an old oak tree, an iron mask is nailed to her face and she is burned alive, while a Priest binds her body inside the chained up body of a clay doll. Fast forward to the present day and disgraced albeit very successful former journalist and skeptic Gerry Fenn (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) works for a lowly publication reporting on strange and mysterious stories. We join him as he drives into Banfield, Massachusetts to meet with a local farmer claiming that his prized cow has been allegedly mutilated by some otherworldly force. It turns out to be nothing more that a teenage prank. However, as Fenn prepares to leave, under that same old oak tree as was seen in the opening sequence, he notices something glistening in the bright sunlight. Venturing over to investigate further, partially buried under the soil he uncovers the same doll, wrapped in chains with a date stamp - the 31st February 1845. The farmer siddles up and takes a look over Fenn's shoulder and notices that its just another corn doll that are a common occurrence in these parts and they are forever cropping up in the fields. But this one is different. Fenn crushes its head beneath his boot, not knowing that in so doing he has unintentionally set the woman's spirit free. 

When driving out of Banfield later that evening, Fenn crashes his car headlong into a tree when a girl dressed in a white gown suddenly appears right in front of him, forcing him to swerve suddenly to avoid hitting her. He gives chase through the forest undergrowth and comes to a clearing to find the young girl staring at the same old oak tree where Fenn had earlier in the day found the doll. From behind he hears her talking and then she collapses. He knocks on the door of the nearby church having carried the girl there and is greeted by Father Hagan (William Sadler) who beckons them in. It turns out that the girl is called Alice Pagett (Cricket Brown) and she is a deaf mute, and that Father Hagan took in her in years ago when her own parents died, and has been her guardian ever since, raising the late teenager as through she was his own. Hagan says that it would have been impossible for Alice to speak as she has never been able to talk or hear anything. When Alice comes round she speaks, dumbfounding Hagan, and leading Fenn to believe that this story may just have some merit, so he decides to stay and investigate further. 

The next day during a church service, Alice gets up mid-way through and walks outside followed by other younger members of the congregation, then their parents, Fenn and Hagan. She walks up to the old oak tree and stuns the gathered onlookers by speaking clearly and claiming that she has been cured by the Virgin Mary who speaks directly to her. Needless to say this leads to a media frenzy, and in the process Alice heals a young wheelchair bound lad who is unable to walk, but miraculously is able to for the first time by having faith. All of this is filmed by Fenn.

Within a few days the Catholic Church send Monsignor Delgarde (Diogo Morgado) to investigate whether the claims of miracle healings are genuine or fake. He says that for a miracle to be truly considered genuine it must meet three key criteria - first, that it is not explicable by natural or scientific laws, second the healing must be instant, and third, it must be long lasting. He further states that he has debunked many so called miracles. He is assisted by Bishop Gyles (Cary Elwes). Fenn asks Delgarde and Gyles for exclusivity of the story, and although they are both fully aware of Fenn's chequered history as a now disgraced journalist, they agree. And so Fenn befriends Alice and begins filming his interviews with her, during which time he comes to realise that while she has been speaking with a Mary, it has only been assumed by her that this has been the Virgin Mary, and not some other entity. In the meantime, Fenn has been experiencing his own visions of a sinister Mary figure. This leads him back to Father Hagan, who has also been healed of emphysema by Alice, but also suspects the true nature behind the healings, having had visions of his own. He says that whenever God builds a church, the Devil builds a chapel next door!

Father Hagan discovers an old bound book in a wall cavity detailing the death of Mary Elnor (Marina Mazepa) the woman hanged and burned back in 1845. Mary sold her soul to Satan in order to seek revenge for her death. He would allow her and her descendants, revealed to be Alice, to perform 'miracles' so people would pledge themselves to her and in turn to Satan. To their horror they learn that Alice, who they believe is unaware of Mary's true nature, wishes to hold a service by the tree which is now cordoned off under a big marquee like structure, turning it into a shrine, and broadcast it to the masses. Father Hagan tries to prevent this, but is ultimately visited by the evil spirt of Mary Elnor in his church and winds up very dead suspended from the rafters of the church by his neck.

Meanwhile Fenn is scouring through the archives of the town in the HQ of the Boston archdiocese in an attempt to uncover more of the sinister events that occurred on that 'impossible date' in 1845 while on his mobile phone to local physician Natalie Gates (Katie Aselton) who had previously treated Alice when she was first seemingly cured. As he does so the microfiche files suddenly melt away and the statue of the Virgin Mary in the room begins to crumble and crack. In disbelief at what he is witnessing, the physical embodiment of Mary Elnor appears out of the crumbled Virgin Mary and lurches to attack. Delgarde enters the room brandishing a Holy Bible, a crucifix and chanting at which point the evil spectre vanishes into thin air. 

Back in Banfield, Fenn, Delgarde and Gates go to the church, and on the alter prepare to recite the spell from the bound book previously uncovered by Hagan. But Mary Elnor is already one step ahead of them and out of nowhere the cross standing proudly over the alter bursts into flames and comes crashing down on top of Delgarde. 

As the service begins marking The Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Alice, now standing at the shrine, says that Mary is speaking with her and urges everyone to pledge themselves to her three times. Fenn and Gates manage to stop the crowd from fully pledging, saying that none of the miracles are real, and they were all a result of the placebo effect, and that the whole story was fabricated by him. This causes Mary Elnor to angrily appear and kill Bishop Gyles before attempting to kill Fenn. She is stopped by Alice, who sacrifices herself to save his life. This in turn causes Mary to disintegrate, as Alice was her last surviving link to the living world, and as the old oak tree erupts into flame. Struck by her sacrifice, Fenn begs God to save Alice's life. She comes back to life, but is restored to her former deaf-mute status.

'The Unholy' is not a bad film, but it's also not that good. There are a few genuine jump scares here; the imagery of the resurrected evil Mary Elnor are surprisingly effective; the combination of Morgan, Brown and Sadler elevate the film above other similar standard offerings; and while the film starts out promising much it quickly falls into familiar predictable territory that we have seen more times than you can hold a crucifix to. Which is a shame because James Herbert's 1983 book was highly acclaimed at the time of its release, with many reviewers, including the Daily Express saying 'Thrills and chills galore from the best-seller Herbert . . . his best yet . . . the build-up to the horrifying climax is subtle and sophisticated . . . ' But here the Director seems to have sacrificed all those thrills and chills and the horrifying climax for a by the numbers routine and largely unoriginal offering. 

'The Unholy' warrants two claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-