THE UNHOLY (2021) – Praying to the wrong Mary
Rating: ⭐⭐ 1/2
Jeffrey Dean Morgan whom many would recognise as Negan in AMC’s The Walking Dead series is the main star in The Unholy. He plays a disgraced reporter trying to redeem himself as well as resurrect his career when he stumbles upon what appears to be a modern day miracle when he witness a young girl claiming to be visited by the Virgin Mary. To make matters more convincing, the girl who is deaf, could hear again, and she began demonstrating healing powers to the sick! However, as the title suggests, is it the Holy Mary she is visited by or something quite the opposite?
I would say that the premise of The Unholy is an interesting one which provides the potential for a realistic horror story as opposed to the fantasied monsters and beasts, or crazed killer on the loose tales that most horror movies are based upon. The Unholy starts off well but as it moves along, it falls into the trappings of the standard Hollywood horror movie cliche. The cheap jump scares, and the predictable victims that get brutally killed by the evil force. The dark history surrounding the small town that explains the phenomenon, and the young innocent looking girl who is being used as the vessel for evil deeds.
The Unholy is the directorial debut for Evan Spiliotopoulos who also produced and wrote the script. Evan has been doing work mainly as a screenwriter than behind the camera. For a first time effort, I would say he did a decent job as I can at least say that the film did not feel boring. However, he failed to provide the genre anything new and ultimately, The Unholy will become quite forgettable in the ocean of horror movies.