Consecration

I'm always attracted to these Christian horror movies and I love the feeling they gave me. This film was one of the decent ones in that category. Eerie, atmospheric locations, cool concept, impressive direction, dialogues and a stellar cast with stellar performance. But the ending was confusing, rushed and had no satisfying conclusion.

I'm always attracted to these Christian horror movies and I love the feeling they gave me. This film was one of the decent ones in that category. Eerie, atmospheric locations, cool concept, impressive direction, dialogues and a stellar cast with stellar performance. But the ending was confusing, rushed and had no satisfying conclusion.

The movie has been terribly misrepresented and misquoted as a horror while, in reality, it tends to lean more towards the genre of murder/mystery thrillers rather than a gloomy, atmospheric fear flick, contrary to what the trailers may have earlier suggested.

The creators should have been more sincere in their promotional strategies because if you are not honest about your work, the audience has a harder time deciding what to expect and what not to and that could backfire and In this case, I believe it is about to turn sour as well.

The film itself isn't half bad, and neither are the concepts it attempts to explore, but I'm worried that subverting viewers' expectations won't go down well with most of them, it didn't with me that's for certain.

I'm writing this review because those I've recently seen (e.g. On the Roger Ebert site), clearly didn't understand what they were watching and what the actual story was. They WANTED a character drama in the cliched sense, when what they got was a mystic mystery of sorts. If you're patient and attentive, you'll understand it all comes together at the end. This is not one of Smith's best, but it's definitely good. It's also completely devoid of sickening Hollywood trends that have made so much of entertainment into an excuse to bash the viewer in the face with ideology.

Consecration is recommended for serious horror fans.

This is marketed as a horror movie, but I think it's more of a lean, tightly written mystery with horrific elements. The clues are so densely packed I couldn't leave to get a soda refill, for fear of missing some key point in the story.

Jena Malone is great as always, though her accent is a bit shaky in places. Janet Suzman is a standout as Mother Superior, as is Ian Pirie, who is genuinely frightening as Jena's dad.

Scenes jump back and forth in time and from dreams to reality in a disorienting fashion, but the final resolution ties up all...and I do mean ALL the loose ends in a way I found very satisfying.

Other reviews have commented that too much of the mystery is given away early. I disagree. I could see the general direction it was going but was still surprised at the reveal.

Smarter than the typical jump-scare movie that gets released every week, it will keep your interest and make you think. Just don't expect it to make you jump out of your seat.

Recommended.

First off, shout outs to Jena Malone who looks fantastic. And now the film. This was a solid watch from start to finish that falls into the suspense religious somewhat embodiment of the supernatural. A story of a journey of a woman who's past, present and future all come together in real time, for the unveiling of who she has been since a child. Cast, story, the religious backdrop, all made a good bit of sense only because of what you find out in the ending part of the film. And I did like how the story did project that mother superior was the person you would have suspected for her nefarious persona only to find out just the opposite. Although the films are not similar, I could not help get the same vibe when I watched the Sixth Sense. Not a horror film but a decent suspense thriller.