OK. It wasn't horrible. That's meant as a compliment because I was pretty much expecting it to be horrible. Now, I'm not saying it was wonderful, or good or anything like that. Let's not get crazy. It's a weak horror movie with a silly story. Six girls are born on the sixth day of the sixth month in some type of isolated religious community called New Bethlehem - a community led by (or lorded over by) Elder Beacon, played by Colm Meaney, who was certainly the most recognizable face in this. Beacon prophesies that one of them will turn out to be the devil incarnate, and which one it is will be the only one left by the time the girls turn 18. Sure enough, as their 18th birthday approaches, the girls begin to disappear. What's happening? Is the prophecy real? Is the devil really working through one of these girls? Or is Beacon the true evil one?
It's watchable pretty much all the way through. But in the end, it disappoints. As long as you believe that Beacon is evil and responsible for everything, then you actually have not just a cheap sort of horror movie, but an actually believable (in an exaggerated sort of way) look at the potential dangers of these isolated religious communities whose lives revolve around the decisions of a single charismatic leader, whose hold on the community is so strong that he can do pretty much whatever he wants. Meaney was good in the role. He took it seriously and seemed to capture the inner workings of Beacon. This would have been OK - not great, but OK - if that had been the outcome of the movie: a community that eventually rebels against an evil demagogue. But, alas, that wasn't the decision.
It had to end on a supernatural note. I won't go into much detail. I don't want to spoil the twist too much - but Beacon (evil, religious, charismatic demagogue though he was) really wasn't responsible. He actually turned out to be right! The devil was responsible - and he wasn't the one the devil was working through! That threw me. Disappointed me. Discombobulated me. Upset me. How else can I put it? The end took a movie that I had been prepared to promote to a few degrees above silly (because I thought it really had offered a decent look at the potential abuses in such a community) and it just became silly again. And that's the thought that lingers in my mind after watching this. Too bad. There was potential for better. (2/10)
It's watchable pretty much all the way through. But in the end, it disappoints. As long as you believe that Beacon is evil and responsible for everything, then you actually have not just a cheap sort of horror movie, but an actually believable (in an exaggerated sort of way) look at the potential dangers of these isolated religious communities whose lives revolve around the decisions of a single charismatic leader, whose hold on the community is so strong that he can do pretty much whatever he wants. Meaney was good in the role. He took it seriously and seemed to capture the inner workings of Beacon. This would have been OK - not great, but OK - if that had been the outcome of the movie: a community that eventually rebels against an evil demagogue. But, alas, that wasn't the decision.
It had to end on a supernatural note. I won't go into much detail. I don't want to spoil the twist too much - but Beacon (evil, religious, charismatic demagogue though he was) really wasn't responsible. He actually turned out to be right! The devil was responsible - and he wasn't the one the devil was working through! That threw me. Disappointed me. Discombobulated me. Upset me. How else can I put it? The end took a movie that I had been prepared to promote to a few degrees above silly (because I thought it really had offered a decent look at the potential abuses in such a community) and it just became silly again. And that's the thought that lingers in my mind after watching this. Too bad. There was potential for better. (2/10)