The Gathering
2/4
Starring: Christina Ricci, Stephen Dillane, Kerry Fox, Harry Forrester, Simon Russell Beale, Robert Hardy, Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Mann
Rated R for Violence and Language
"The Gathering" is a strange little horror film. The first act is clunky, the second act is super creepy, and the final act is pure crap. Here is a horror film that combines religious mumbo jumbo, voyeurism, Catholic sex abuse, and a spree shooter in a religious horror movie. If it were possible to combine them all in one movie (and I'm not sure it is), it would take some deft hands. Which director Brian Gilbert definitely does not possess.
Marion Kirkman (Fox) is driving in the blinding rain, trying to get her stepson Michael (Forrester) to stop kicking her seat. She turns around to yell at him, only to find that she has hit a girl with her car. Despite an accident that should have killed her, Cassie Grant (Ricci) is fine, except that she doesn't remember anything except her name. In no short order, Marion has hired her to be the live-in nanny for the children, but she has violent visions and is aware of a creepy individual who may be stalking Michael.
Meanwhile, Marion's new husband Simon (Dillane) is investigating a mysterious new church that was found buried in nearby (it was discovered by two ill-fated festival goers). For reasons unknown, the church wants it investigated quietly. But the more he finds out about the church's past, the more he fears for the life of himself and his family.
The flaws in the first act are mainly editing related. The leaps of logic made by the characters and the growth of their relationships (for example, Cassie has all but moved in after what appears to be the first few days) would be more credible had they been given more room to breathe. Because this is a horror movie and this is all set-up, it's rather easy to suspend disbelief, but not cleaving off so many scenes would have helped set the stage better.
When Gilbert is holding all of his cards, he's on sure ground. He knows just how much information to give us so that we're wondering in terror the answers to what's going on. The line between being too oblique and too obvious is thin, and Gilbert successfully straddles it. As a result, the second half gave me enough of the heebie jeebies to dart over to the door to turn the lights on. Admittedly, this isn't a hard thing to do for someone easily spooked by horror movies, but I digress.
However, when everything is explained, the movie turns into a complete joke. Not only is the big reveal not the least bit scary, it's not believable either. That it tries to tie itself to spree shooter and Catholic sexual abuse makes it reprehensible. Adding insult to injury, these ideas appear to have been wedded with duct tape.
What is Christina Ricci doing in this movie? A mainstay on the indie circuit, Ricci has for the most part chosen projects that appeal to her personally rather than for the money or exposure. She's not against appearing in a mainstream movie (she did appear in "Speed Racer," "Sleepy Hollow" and the Wes Craven bomb "Cursed"), but she's definitely choosy about which ones she will appear in. So why did she choose something this insipid? My guess is that the money was too good to turn down. Hey, actors gotta eat. Especially if they usually go for arthouse fare. Of the supporting cast, only Ioan Gruffudd makes an impression since he's rather charming.
Yet, there are some scenes in the middle portion that are truly creepy, and a small part of me is tempted to recommend the film just for them. Then I remember that there are other horror movies that are more terrifying and better made. So yeah, it's easy to tell that little voice in my head to shut up and recommend a horror movie that would actually be worth your time.
Starring: Christina Ricci, Stephen Dillane, Kerry Fox, Harry Forrester, Simon Russell Beale, Robert Hardy, Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Mann
Rated R for Violence and Language
"The Gathering" is a strange little horror film. The first act is clunky, the second act is super creepy, and the final act is pure crap. Here is a horror film that combines religious mumbo jumbo, voyeurism, Catholic sex abuse, and a spree shooter in a religious horror movie. If it were possible to combine them all in one movie (and I'm not sure it is), it would take some deft hands. Which director Brian Gilbert definitely does not possess.
Marion Kirkman (Fox) is driving in the blinding rain, trying to get her stepson Michael (Forrester) to stop kicking her seat. She turns around to yell at him, only to find that she has hit a girl with her car. Despite an accident that should have killed her, Cassie Grant (Ricci) is fine, except that she doesn't remember anything except her name. In no short order, Marion has hired her to be the live-in nanny for the children, but she has violent visions and is aware of a creepy individual who may be stalking Michael.
Meanwhile, Marion's new husband Simon (Dillane) is investigating a mysterious new church that was found buried in nearby (it was discovered by two ill-fated festival goers). For reasons unknown, the church wants it investigated quietly. But the more he finds out about the church's past, the more he fears for the life of himself and his family.
The flaws in the first act are mainly editing related. The leaps of logic made by the characters and the growth of their relationships (for example, Cassie has all but moved in after what appears to be the first few days) would be more credible had they been given more room to breathe. Because this is a horror movie and this is all set-up, it's rather easy to suspend disbelief, but not cleaving off so many scenes would have helped set the stage better.
When Gilbert is holding all of his cards, he's on sure ground. He knows just how much information to give us so that we're wondering in terror the answers to what's going on. The line between being too oblique and too obvious is thin, and Gilbert successfully straddles it. As a result, the second half gave me enough of the heebie jeebies to dart over to the door to turn the lights on. Admittedly, this isn't a hard thing to do for someone easily spooked by horror movies, but I digress.
However, when everything is explained, the movie turns into a complete joke. Not only is the big reveal not the least bit scary, it's not believable either. That it tries to tie itself to spree shooter and Catholic sexual abuse makes it reprehensible. Adding insult to injury, these ideas appear to have been wedded with duct tape.
What is Christina Ricci doing in this movie? A mainstay on the indie circuit, Ricci has for the most part chosen projects that appeal to her personally rather than for the money or exposure. She's not against appearing in a mainstream movie (she did appear in "Speed Racer," "Sleepy Hollow" and the Wes Craven bomb "Cursed"), but she's definitely choosy about which ones she will appear in. So why did she choose something this insipid? My guess is that the money was too good to turn down. Hey, actors gotta eat. Especially if they usually go for arthouse fare. Of the supporting cast, only Ioan Gruffudd makes an impression since he's rather charming.
Yet, there are some scenes in the middle portion that are truly creepy, and a small part of me is tempted to recommend the film just for them. Then I remember that there are other horror movies that are more terrifying and better made. So yeah, it's easy to tell that little voice in my head to shut up and recommend a horror movie that would actually be worth your time.
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