When things get scary in the cinemas, it is very likely that Sam Raimi or one of his partners is behind it. It has been standing for forty years dance of the Devil-Creator for the macabre and the remote, the terrifying or the repulsive. The filmmaker is rarely seen in the director’s chair these days, but he uses experience and influence to help others implement their ideas or to find previously undiscovered talents.
That doesn’t always work so well (best examples: The Grudge, Poltergeist) as last at Crawl by Alexandre Aja or Fede Alvarez ‘ Don’t Breathe, but at least it jumps often enough rock solid genre entertainment. At the moment we can only speculate about the category in which his new producer prank will be The Unholy will end with Jeffrey Dean Morgan in the role of a disgraced journalist. But if Sony Pictures’ plan works, we will soon have the opportunity to find out for ourselves – as early as June 17, 2021 for the start in German cinemas.
Bad cards against Godzilla vs. Kong
In the USA, the horror thriller charged with targeted jumpscares and religious themes had almost no chance. In the end it was enough for number two on the box office, but the three million dollars required for this pale in view of the superiority of the two monster titans Godzilla and Kong (48 million at the US theatrical release), against that of Screen Gems and Sam Raimis Ghost House Pictures produced Shocker on the weekend.
That The Unholy was classified by American critics as “rarely scary, far too often dull patchwork of different horror clichés”, should not have helped.
Also the fact that the US theatrical release was announced so surprisingly at short notice and implemented without major marketing efforts, accompanied by a modest 29 percent in the review barometer RottenTomatoes (after 42 reviews), suggests that we might be dealing with one of Raimi’s rare mistakes – which you can still see for yourself in the cinema in this country. Now it only has to work with the reopening of the German cinemas by the targeted start date.
Something evil has awakened: The Unholy. © Sony Pictures
–
Jeffrey Dean Morgan under the spell of evil
Perhaps the most powerful argument for The Unholy, a theatrical adaptation of James Herbert’s mystery novel Appearance (im Original: Shrine), speaks, is the main actor: In his series hits The Walking Dead or Supernatural Jeffrey Dean Morgan always gives the hard bone who knows the answer to everything. But what about a supposed miracle and the question: What if you worship the wrong God?
As a journalist, Gerry Fenn’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) job is to be skeptical. Therefore, he initially reacts in disbelief when he hears of a deaf and mute girl who, after touching St. Mary, is said to be able to hear, speak and even heal the sick again. The news spreads quickly and people travel in droves to the pilgrimage church, where they are supposed to work their divine miracles – including Gerry.
But only he begins to question whether the deeds are really about the power of the Blessed Virgin Mary or whether there is something much more disturbing behind the phenomenon.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan can’t believe his eyes. © Sony Pictures
–
That could be interesting too
–
