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| Rated: 5.00/5 | Votes: 1 | Views: 86 |Submitted: 03/06/08 |
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From the Vault
By Heather Wixson Hey everyone, sorry for the delay! Got hit with that nasty flu/cold thing going around so I wasn’t up for much lately. But I finally sat down and checked out the 1988 flick The Unholy starring Ben Cross (probably best known as Barnabas Collins in the TV remake of Dark Shadows), and other notable cast members including Ned Beatty and recent Oscar nominee Hal Holbrook. The Unholy is the story of Father Michael (Cross) who finds out through a freakish accident that he is God’s chosen vessel to battle a very unpleasant demonic force that has killed off two priests in a now-abandoned parish in New Orleans. He explores a seedy nightclub that has questionable links to satanic rituals and ultimately battles evil in the final act of the movie. There’s 1 hour and 45 minutes of a movie in a nutshell. Overall, the movie was decent. It is an ‘80s flick, so some of the dialogue is cheesy, and the special effects (including a puppeteered demon dog) left something to be desired, but in the end, I kinda liked the movie. Not because it was wonderful, but because it was entertaining enough and sometimes, that’s okay. Cross does a good job as Father Michael, a priest who comes to realize he’s been ordained as something beyond this world but who is bogged down by the past horrors of a church has been chosen to reopen. I actually liked his work on Dark Shadows and here, he’s probably one of the few actors who seem to be comfortable with their role. Ned Beatty plays Lt. Stern, an officer who provides Father Michael with some information on the past priest deaths, but isn’t much beyond that (kinda wondered why they cast him- he was a pretty busy guy in the 80s). Hal Holbrook plays Archbishop Moseley, and again, with his acting chops, his appearance here just seems a waste. The rest of the supporting cast isn’t too noteworthy but they all managed to handle the script very well. Another thing that worked for me was placing the story in New Orleans. I find the city utterly fascinating, especially after visiting there a few years back. The hint of satanic culture there and history of voodoo is just so interesting and I found it believable that in this movie there would be a nightclub that would cater to that audience. I don’t know if I would be heading there myself for a nightcap, but I get the appeal. And I like the idea of a movie that pits Catholicism against it too. (For anyone who wants to see a decent movie that focuses on voodoo, rent the highly overlooked Kate Hudson flick, Skeleton Key. I was surprised by how good that movie actually was since I am not a Hudson fan myself). Right now, The Unholy is available On Demand through FearNet and I would say it is probably far more watchable than most of the movies available there right now (except Fright Night). Next week, I will be going back and delving into the movie that made George A. Romero- Night of the Living Dead. After seeing his latest film, I wanted to take a look again at his original (which I haven’t seen in almost 20 years myself), and discuss why it is the epitome of the ultimate horror classic. Until next time… |
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