Pater Noster and the Mission of Light

I'm so glad I made the effort to see this one on the big screen--Chris Bickel is a genius at film and music genres and he has studied them his entire life--and it shows in PN and The Mission of Light. A Beautiful classic horror flick! I was worried that it would give me PTSD like some recent horror films but this film was perfect! It was scary but I walked away feeling great!

The storyline: A California-type cult from the 70's strayed from its original purpose and became a Satanic nightmare. A modern-day record store collector is drawn to it but after she and her friends discover the mysterious group, assuming that they're just a friendly family lead by an MIT professor, everything goes south...

As a vinyl collector who also has more than a passing interest in cults, this indie horror flick sounded tailor made for me. I was not disappointed. It was obviously written by someone who is well versed in both obsessive music collection and religious cults. While it does suffer a little from some of the typical issues present in many low budget efforts (some of the acting and dialog could be a little stronger), it more than makes up for it with its ambitious scope and the gonzo nature of the final act. Gorehounds will not be disappointed, the practical effects are well done and plentiful. The catchy and authentic sounding cult tunes didn't hurt either. I liked it so much after watching it streaming online that I bought the Blu Ray.

I had no involvement in the making of this film and did not even contribute to the crowdfunding campaign. I just read some other good reviews of it online and gave it a chance.

Honestly, for general audiences this movie would probably rate a 4-5. However, for those who like low budget gorefests, I'd rate it a solid 8.

I just finished watching Pater Noster and the Mission of Light, and first off let me say thank you Chris for another great film! I would like to recommend this film to any Horror fan that might be interested in watching an insane psychedelic acid trip gone off the deep end. What might happen when a group of friends that are really big on finding and collecting rare records get invited to meet a band that has not been heard from in decades?

If you by chance have had an opportunity to check out Chris Bickel's previous films 2017 The Theta Girl, and Bad Girls 2022 you might have some sort of an idea of what to expect and if not I recommend that you at least give them a look see.

I discovered my favorite movie of 2024 streaming on Night Flight. I love how record store culture is portrayed, with complete strangers bonding over obscure music and ending up sharing overnight listening parties. And the gradual descent into a bugfuggen crazy horror movie is masterful, especially given the microbudget and unknown cast. My jaw dropped open so often from watching this movie, I got cottonmouth!

Cult director Christopher Bickel also tosses in a mushroom-soaked soundtrack that tries as hard to make you trip as some of the movie characters, who seem to think nothing of dosing unsuspecting visitors with psychedelics. Highly recommended to fans of Master Of Horror and the original Evil Dead trilogy --

Probably my favorite horror movie of the year. Low budget, but that doesn't detract from the effectiveness of the FX. In fact, the sticky quality of the blood is a nice throwback to the 70s and 80s genre flicks we all love. Predictable on occasion, but surprising where it counts. I mean, young people going to a remote location in the woods to meet with a cult leader? I wonder what will happen? Still, the specifics are fresh and the vinyl record take on the necronomicon trope is kind of inspired. Only reason it's not a 10 is that at times it tries to be gratuitous for the sake of being gratuitous and I didn't find that those couple scenes stuck the landing. Overall, a spectacularly fun movie!