We haven’t seen a horror movie lately, so we tossed the dice and came up with “The Unholy” starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, from Walking Dead fame. This movie is based on a best seller “Shrine” by James Herbert, I didn’t read it, but we’ve all had a lot of time on our hands the last eighteen months perhaps someone might have read it, I’m just throwing it out there.
Our movie begins in 1845 and a mob of villagers has hung a woman believed to be a witch, from a
tree and started a fire beneath to burn her alive, an iron mask is hammered over her face. The tree
she is being hung from has a striking profile, as a viewer we know we will see this ominous tree again. Flash forward to present day Boston where we meet Jeffrey Dean Morgan, a down on his luck tabloid writer/photographer Gerry Fenn who is spiking his morning coffee with booze from a flask.
He receives a call from his editor to investigate a possible cow mutilation in the town of Banfield, which is known as “a little piece of God’s country.” It’s obvious from the assignment that this is a National Enquirer type of tabloid, and there is some banter between Gerry and the editor. He is unhappy with the silly assignment, and the editor reminds him he should be happy to be working at all after what happened a few years before. So, we will wait for the writer to reveal that tidbit.
So, Gerry is in Banfield, and the cow mutilation is bogus, nothing to write about so he’s not getting
paid, but as he is leaving, he begins to hear whispered voices which lead him to a familiar to us tree,
yes, it’s the site of the 1845 burning. Hidden in the base of the tree is a “kern baby” which I have
never heard of. This is a type of doll, common in the area and is used to keep evil away. This one is
odd in that the doll, which is intact but covered in dirt, is covered in chains and has the impossible
date of February 31, 1845 stamped on it. He decides this might be a story he could sell, so he
smashes the doll and creates a story he hopes might be work a few hundred dollars.
That evening, while driving back to the city he narrowly avoids hitting a young girl who suddenly
appears in the road. He chases after the girl, who stops at the same tree, the burning tree, and finds
her in a trance speaking in whispers.
We discover the girl is Alice, the niece of the town priest, Father Hagan who is her guardian as both
her parents died years earlier. Alice, until her trip to the tree had been deaf and mute her whole life,
how is it she now speaks and hears normally? Alice has the answer, she has seen a vision of the
Virgin Mary, whom she now calls “The Lady” who is speaking thru Alice and urging all to share the message of faith.
Gerry is in a great position, as he knows this story will move him back to the big leagues of writing.
Alice feels comfortable speaking with Gerry, who is then awarded exclusive access to Alice for
publication.
Throngs of people invade Banfield, looking for a miracle and to hear the words of the Virgin Mary.
However, Alice’s uncle, Father Hagan is concerned that Banfield will become a commercialized shrine similar to Lourdes and the tiny town of Banfield will be destroyed. Father Hagan reminds Gerry, “when God builds a church the Devil builds a chapel next door”. The Vatican is concerned enough that they send a Bishop and a Vatican Inquisitor to authenticate Alice’s claim of Mary’s visitation. Soon Mary is healing a boy with muscular dystrophy and even saving Father Hagan from death when he suffers a heart attack, and scores a trifecta when she cures the Priest’s lung cancer… signed, sealed and delivered, Banfield is now a designated holy shrine.
Gerry continues his interviewing of Alice asking her what does the Lady want? She wants our faith.
Why you Alice, why did the Lady choose you? I prayed to be heard, to give voice to the voiceless,
that’s why she chose me.
The holy shrine is centered by the burning tee of 1845 and Alice has now become a social media
influencer. But Gerry begins to see visions of the past and he begins to question Alice’s miracle. He
finds a book from 1845 describing the actions which lead up to the burning in 1845, the burning of
Mary Elinor. Okay so we have burned at the tree evil Mary, and the Virgin Mary aka “The Lady” and it’s all starting to make sense.
Also making sense, is “The Lady” using Gerry to spread the word of the visitation. Gerry, a lapsed
Catholic, which Father Hagan describes “doubt weakens faith, doubt leads to damnation.” We learn
that ten years ago, Gerry fabricated a story that went viral but was eventually found to be a lie, which is why his career is in the toilet. “The Lady” knew she could manipulate Gerry with his desire to get back into the big leagues of legitimate newspaper writing. And we now put it all together and realize
“The Lady” is not the Virgin Mary of course, but evil Mary Elinor, who’s plot is to claim the souls of all our Alice’s followers and they are many. There is a plot twist involving Alice’s family tree which ties everything up neatly at the end. Unlike the casting of “Virtuoso” leading man Anson Mount, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Gerry is spot on. He’s very believable as the semi drunken reporter, compassionate listener to Alice and comes full circle to throwing away his vehicle to professional redemption to do the right thing and lose all he thought was important.
“The Unholy” rated B- would never win any major awards, but it’s something different, a decent
storyline, good casting, and just the right length at ninety-nine minutes. I know some might be
offended by the manipulation of the Virgin Mary, but it’s just a movie right??
As for a beverage, this is a religious based thriller so a glass of red wine would be appropriate.
