I remember seeing a poster for this movie when I was a kid. It was used as an example of how horror movies were evil and blasphemous, but of course all it did was make me want to watch the movie. I've had the movie in the back of my mind for years now, but this year I actually get to check it out for the horror challenge, so I'm excited.
The movie is about a convent where horrible things keep happening to the nuns. They try to keep things running as normal, but after two nuns die within a day of each other, the Vatican sends a priest to investigate the convent. After he sees a bunch of demonic happenings, he reports back that the convent is possessed by demons and the church needs to do an exorcism. The church doesn't like that answer, so they send another priest who is more "modern" in his thinking. At first he thinks there must be a rational reason for the events, but even he concludes eventually that there must be demonic activity involved. Can he stop the demons before it's too late?
Over the years, I've been so focused on seeing this movie because it was supposedly so shocking and evil and whatever, that it never occurred to me that the movie might actually be good, so it surprises me to say this, but the movie is actually worth watching, and not just for the shock value. There are some genuinely creepy scenes here, and the plot held my interest. I actually felt bad for some of the characters and wanted to see them defeat the evil in the end.
It's not all perfect, of course. The opening sequence has some good points, but it also has some really stupid lines that made me roll my eyes. Also they keep talking about the deaths of the two nuns and how they're "accidental," but we see one of those nuns die, and she gets stabbed IN THE BACK at least 12 times, so I have a hard time believing anyone ruled that death accidental. Plus the soundtrack is really loud and distracting and annoying as hell, and it ruins a few scenes that could otherwise have been good.
I'm actually kind of surprised at how NOT blasphemous this movie turned out to be. Yes, it has nuns doing some bad things, but those things painted as evil and wrong, and the message of the whole movie is that two wrongs don't make a right and evil deeds will be punished, even if you think you got away with it, because God is always watching. There's a good bit of gore, but it's not overtly gratuitous, and I've definitely seen much worse. There are some good performances too. The Mother Superior scared the crap out of me, and that nun who always stands in the shadows with a veil covering her face is really terrifying. I'm sure I'll see her in my nightmares. Overall, I was actually pleasantly surprised that this movie was worth watching. I'm glad I finally got to see it.
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