Score: 3 / 5
Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays the unfortunately named Gerry Fenn, a disaster of a journalist. The sort of world-weary, washed-up mess of a guy he plays so very well (Desierto, The Possession), Gerry is eking along as an outcast reporter, traveling long distances to "investigate" ridiculous and bizarre things. His most recent trip brought him to a rural Massachusetts town, where a farmer is a little too ignorant to know that the apparent mutilation of his cows are really just Metallica logos painted on by bored kids. Naturally, he's drinking a lot, and his grungy, grizzled manners are off-putting to just about everyone.
Well, almost everyone. Young Alice (Cricket Brown), niece of the local priest, is known to be deaf and mute, but after a supernatural encounter at a gnarled old tree next to the Catholic church, she miraculously can hear. She claims to have seen the Virgin Mary in the tree, and the oracle will use Alice as her mouthpiece. She speaks shockingly well, too, and determines that Gerry will be her exclusive outlet for delivering her messages to the masses. Because hers is not the only miracle: she performs healings and blessings in the name of her beloved Lady. Gerry sees her as his ticket back into business, but his gruff charm belies a heart quickly warming to the otherwise faithful and innocent girl.
Gerry's protective -- dare we say fatherly? -- relationship with Alice is one of the several things the film does not handle well. It's believable, and that's a definite plus, but it's interesting and unusual in the genre, and I wanted more insight and drama from it as a result. It's almost treated as a given that Alice needs an outlet, and that he is the natural choice. His desperation isn't made as clear, in the film, as his eye for opportunity. Moreover, the film clearly doesn't understand journalism, as there is no way he can afford motels and travel expenses on the bizarre stories he writes for, what, $150? And there are two or three early bits of dialogue that suggest he intentionally rewrites reality to skew the story for wider readership and sensationalism; the last thing we need now is more examples of fake news.
But, for whatever reason, the relationship works, and soon the masses descend on the town, convinced it is a new Lourdes or Fatima. The sick and downtrodden hope for miracles; the pious hope for proof it is either a hoax or the real deal. Alice's uncle summons a bishop (Cary Elwes with an ungodly Boston accent) and monsignor (hunky Diogo Morgado) to investigate, and suddenly global interest focuses on the creepy-ass dead tree where Mary appears to Alice. But Alice is in charge, or rather Mary is, and she controls the circus like a pro. "Doubt weakens faith," she declares, quelling any naysayers by harnessing the virtue and intervention of her faithful followers. She goes viral, and we're treated to online videos of girls feeling "seen" as they watch and react to videos of Alice's speeches and miracles. This fascinating montage deserved a lot more time and consideration in the film, as the tension slowly rises for our main characters: Is Mary really the Blessed Virgin? Is the Emperor actually wearing any clothes?
It's a fun release for Holy Week, and has some really cool ideas about the nature of religion -- especially popular religion in the age of information -- in a postmodern world. It has a lot of heart between the two leads, and it has a lot of suitably scary bits that mostly rely on jump-scares and a creeping sensation of dread. And despite some really clever, moody-broody cinematography, it's largely a standard exercise in diabolical horror. Its greatest source of tension, the question of Mary's true nature and intentions, are undermined from the very beginning, which makes the proceedings feel inevitable and morose rather than thrilling and disturbing. I'd watch this movie as a counterpart to The Exorcism of Emily Rose, by far by favorite in the subgenre, and I will continue to wish this movie took more leaves from that book. The most original ideas in The Unholy are mostly left unfertilized, so the hints of thematic and theological depth are as suggestive and engaging as they are ultimately disappointing.
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