THE WOODS OF PURGATORTY is a thrilling bicoastal occult mystery yarn with a powerful Fredianelli lead performance. In the film Fredianelli plays a rather unorthodox (tee-hee!) priest out to avenge his mother's death and does some serious detectiving to thwart a satanic cult. WOODS is an atmospheric and creepy film and features an aesthetic rich in callbacks to Hammer Horror and 70s New Hollywood fright flicks. When I saw a preview clip from the film featuring Father Fredianelli and a priestly (Boynton) Paek I was a little worried Fredianelli might take things too far with these play-by-their-own-rules priest characters to the point where they'd come off as too far-fetched (a la the way the cop character comes off in PALE BLUE BALLOONS), but each actor nails it in a manner that's convincing. Aside from Fredianelli standing out as the lead (and making prime use of the patented "Fredianelli stare"), the antagonist of the picture also shines in Matt Monaco. Monaco channels Charles Manson as the head of the satanic cult (with a moniker any fan of classic movies should recognize) and is frankly terrifying in this. WOODS' Florida and California locations add novelty and scope while a maritime set piece in particular manages to excite. While I must admit I saw the ending coming, it's no less satisfying and closes the film with one of the most powerful (and 70s) single images I might have seen in all of cinema.
