Saint Sinner

don't know from where this master writer get these names (munkar & nakir),it's certainly in Islamic context but i don't about Christianity. Munkar and Nakir in Islamic eschatology are two 'malaikat'(angels) who test the faith of the dead in their tombs. After death, they prop the deceased upright in the grave and ask "Who is your Lord?, Who is your Prophet?, What is your Book?" A righteous muslim will respond correctly. He will then be shown the place that had been reserved for him in HELL, but told that Allah has exchanged it for a place in PARADISE. An infidel, of course will not respond correctly, and the angels will rebuke him: "Neither did you know nor did you seek guidance from those who had knowledge". Then they will hit him with an iron hammer between his ears, show him the place he could have had in Paradise, and throw him into HELL. IF THIS MOTHER/DAUGHTER DEMONS/SUCCUBI did not appears in the Bible. THIS CERTAINLY IS AN INSULT.

If you like Clive Barker film adaptations you will probably like this. This is a good and bad thing of course as Barker films tend to be uneven. On the plus side is decent acting and some genuinely spooky scenes especially in the first half. The two sucubi are especially interesting at first with quirky mannerisms and they do give an impression of supernatural beings in human form. The effects are generally good but do get a little cheesy in parts (the latex look). The protagonists also tend to become less interesting as the film goes on. Thats the main problem I have with this movie in that it just goes on too long. I really enjoyed the first hour but steadily lost interest as the story ran out of ideas and became pretty predictable. All in all though it was enjoyable enough and does show more imagination than a lot of what passes for horror these days. If you liked this I would recommend "Hellraiser" also by Clive and "The Prophecy" with Christopher Walken.

What a disappointment! A weak, illogical plot loaded with cliches. There is so much psycho-sexual territory to be mined in exploring the mythology of Incubi, but this stinker does nothing more than throw in the towel. Clive Barker has done some good original stuff, but not here, not now.

SAINT SINNER had the potential to be really good, but the final product is only average. There are some good scenes in here, but the screenplay also shows inability to prove it has a brain every now and then. There's enough of the "erotic gore" that Clive Barker is known for to make this "a Clive Barker movie". The film certainly has an intriguing pedigree, and perhaps even a nice premise, but the end result is just not that great.

5 out of 10

(go to www.nixflix.com for a more detailed review of the film)

In 1815, the curious monk Tomas Alcala (Greg Serano) releases two evil female succubi called Munkar (Mary Mara) and Nakir (Rebecca Harrell) from a prison with the shape of a sculptured ball. The demons kill his brother eating his arm and escapes to the Twenty-First Century using a weird device stored in the monastery. Tomas is marked on his hand by a dagger, and the priests understand that, in accordance with God's wish, this would mean that he would be a saint and should travel in time to destroy the succubi, using the dagger as a kind of compass to direct him towards the demons. In the present days, he is helped by detective Rachel Dressler (Gina Ravera), who is grieving the loss of her father and believes on his words. Meanwhile, the two evil demons are feeding themselves of blood of human beings and fighting against Tomas and Rachel. I have just seen this movie on cable television and certainly it is above average. It has a reasonable screenplay and good special effects. The cast is not bad, but something is missing to be a good or excellent movie. Maybe with a better lead actor, and some more fun in the scenes of the two succubi might improve the story. Anyway, I am a great fan of horror movies and I found `Saint Sinner' a worthwhile entertainment, specially considering that it is made for TV. I do not know why most of the present horror movies uses the expression `God's Plan'. As far as I know, the Catholic Church does not have this cliché, but it is used in many stories to designate what God expects from a character or situation. Does God have a plan for the humankind? I find this expression not appropriated, but maybe it is my misunderstanding of language or lack of knowledge of religion. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): `O Santo Pecador' (`The Saint Sinner')