A detective (Clayne Crawford) must fight for the redemption of his soul when he finds himself trapped in a mysterious hospital that serves as a gateway between heaven and hell.
Writer-director Drew Hall grew up watching the cult classics, including "Maniac Cop" and "Gymkata", and took that frame of mind and mixed it with the literary classic, Dante's "Inferno". For a touch of real life, he relied on something he recalled growing up. As he says, "In Mobile / Pensacola during the 90's there were some really tragic murders committed in the name of God by anti-abortion extremists called the Army of God." These influences, as disparate as they may be, blend very well, and go perfect in the setting of a hospital (filmed at an actual abandoned hospital, no less). Regarding mysterious hospitals, we can trace the motif going back at least to Lars von Trier's "The Kingdom" and probably much earlier... but never before used as it is here.
To flesh out the unique story we have a notable cast. The biggest name is probably Ethan Embry, who really broke out in "Dutch" (1991) and then exploded in "Can't Hardly Wait" (1998). Since 2005, he has been in a steady stream of horror features, and we now know oh so well he can provide a dark side as well as the sweet and innocent. This works great for "Convergence", as he plays both sides in many ways.
Clayne Crawford takes the lead. I was not familiar with his past work, but from certain angles he could pass as Ray Liotta, which is probably a good thing. The actress playing Casey could pass for a younger, more attractive Sandra Bullock... which is definitely a good thing. The nurse's southern accent was a bit over the top (especially compared to her co-stars), but I loved the characters of Grayson and Miles and would like to see more of those actors' faces.
The camera and direction are for the most part great. I could have used less fuzzy, blurry, shaky camera in some places, but this happens more in the first half and is easily forgotten. Some of the great effects later on more than make up for that. The plot is almost what could be called Lynchian. That may be going too far, but I kept getting hints of "Mulholland Drive" for reasons that are not explainable.
This is not something I thought I would ever say, but I love the inclusion of GAPS (the paranormal research team). I strongly dislike "ghost hunting" shows and have no interest in the "Paranormal Activity" franchise. But Drew Hall found a way to use such characters in an interesting, innovative way... they are ideal supporting characters and give the film a sense of balance that might otherwise be lacking.
Lastly, thank you for Everclear's "Santa Monica". Some songs just bring us back to a better time in life, and this is one of them.
