She’s informing everyone that she is now communicating with the Virgin Mary (it’s presented to us with ethereal, hazy white, glowing visuals). Hagan (William Sadler) in the area, is healed of her deaf-mute condition once the spirit is set free. It’s easy to see why people within the vicinity don’t think too much of it since 18-year-old Alice, who lives with her uncle Fr. It turns out, he has let loose… something. He decides to stomp on it and use it as material to make the aforementioned story, which has turned out to be a waste of time, more exciting. Initially called out to report on potential demonic rituals involving animals near a church (something that’s amusingly not at all what it seems and shows a welcome sense of humor among everything else here), Gerry also stumbles upon a creepy porcelain doll with the impossible date of February 31st scribbled across it. Gerry is a known liar trying to make a comeback, and while he may be inadvertently responsible for the events at play here, fluffing up the story and the actual truth come into serious question for what seems like the first time in his life. Once word of the miracles gets out to the Catholic Church, it should be a given that someone is going to be up to no good even in the face of imminent danger. It’s also a pleasant surprise that the protagonist is a disgraced journalist by the name of Gerry Fenn (Jeffrey Dean Morgan of The Walking Dead notoriety), an ethically slimy reporter here looking for his next big story, going on a moral arc in the process that while it is par for the course, comes with the added caveat of juxtaposing his profession with various men of faith across different rankings. The Unholy is the rare example of a horror movie where it somewhat works better because the audience is kept inside the loop. Of course, that means the horror is mostly psychological with us watching these characters make mistakes that we otherwise might make in their same shoes. It’s practically Stephen King-ish when one considers the Monkey’s Paw horror approach that turned Pet Sematary into one of the author’s greatest works.
I’ve never read the book, but the film doesn’t exactly hide that the characters, who believe they are praying to the Virgin Mary in return for fulfilled miracles (a deaf-mute woman has her hearing restored, a child with muscular dystrophy rises from his wheelchair able to walk, and more), are actually worshiping something malevolent. Such is the premise for The Unholy (based on the 1983 novel Shine by James Herbert with Evan Spiliotopoulos writing and directing for the screen, making his directorial debut in the process following serving as a longtime producer for a slew of Disney projects), which admittedly comes with enough conceptual terror I forgot the movie was even rated PG-13 and stopped caring about seeing something ultraviolent. Where God goes, the devil is not far behind. When terrifying events begin to happen all around, he starts to question if these phenomena are the works of the Virgin Mary or something much more sinister. As word spreads and people from near and far flock to witness her miracles, a disgraced journalist hoping to revive his career visits the small New England town to investigate. The Unholy follows Alice, a young hearing-impaired girl who, after a supposed visitation from the Virgin Mary, is inexplicably able to hear, speak and heal the sick. Starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Cricket Brown, Cary Elwes, William Sadler, Katie Aselton, Christine Adams, Marina Mazepa, Gisela Chipe, Bill Thorpe, Dustin Tucker, Danny Corbo, and Diogo Morgado. Written and Directed by Evan Spiliotopoulos.
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