The more the screenplay insists that there are dire consequences here, the less persuasive it gets.
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(The cast does their best with the material.) This notable structural flaw is superseded by the exposition itself, which is jaw-dropping in so many different ways that, for a moment, it seems that perhaps THE VATICAN TAPES is meant to be a genre parody.Īny movie would have trouble recovering from this, but THE VATICAN TAPES has nothing to fall back on – not plot momentum, not characterization, not even good scares. The reason for why Angela has been specifically targeted for what she’s going through is first of all delivered in one of those giant hairballs of exposition that gets virtually no dramatic buildup until one of the actors delivers it with commendable professionalism. Ah, but the devil is not only in the victim, it’s in the details. So far, apart from being derivative, this sounds neither better nor worse than most other exorcism movies. Father Lozano in turn becomes convinced that the supernatural is involved and reaches out to Cardinal Bruun (Peter Andersson). Roger and Pete both become concerned Roger finally reaches out to a friendly priest, Father Lozano (Michael Pena). Then some very strange incidents occur and Angela begins acting very strangely. THE VATICAN TAPES is well-made enough to stay out of the latter category, but as an exorcism horror film – or any sort of film, for that matter – it still qualifies as a mess.Īfter an onscreen note informs us that the Vatican is concerned about incidents of demonic possession and see tapes of exorcisms that are purportedly part of a secret library of such things, we are then introduced to Angela Holmes (Olivia Dudley), a pretty, young American woman whose primary goal at the moment seems to be preventing her religious and military officer father Roger (Dougray Scott) from becoming overly stern with her boyfriend Pete (John Patrick Amedori). At the low end is some truly astonishing schlock. At the high end, there’s the William Peter Blatty/William Friedkin 1973 classic THE EXORCIST and more financially modest but tremendously effective efforts like THE LAST EXORCISM.
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What helps most is having an actress who knows how to say those four little words: You all will die.A scene from THE VATICAN TAPES | © 2015 LionsgateĮxorcism films run the gamut. The tapes of the title seem to fulfill some universal contractual obligation to feature found footage in horror movies, but the ending at least is gratifyingly grandiose. Her flick of an eyebrow or odd change in posture is more gripping than the film’s usual scare tactics. Holmes is examined and possession is suspected, but when the Vatican is called upon to. She conveys unnerving shifts in self-awareness and sinister intent with her eyes. The director Mark Neveldine deploys queasy lighting and a trembling score, but his best choice is to let Ms. When she’s sent home, a Vatican cardinal (Peter Andersson) arrives to perform an exorcism she could be the Antichrist, and the church keeps an eye out for that sort of thing. Moving to a psychiatric hospital only brings on more violence (and mind-reading skills). People are hurt around her her military-man dad (Dougray Scott) and boyfriend (John Patrick Amedori) fret ravens keep turning up. Dudley works up an expressive arsenal of gestural detail and shades of mood that are worth watching amid the film’s rigmarole of satanic possession.Īngela goes from sunny to malevolent through freak events that leave her in a coma, which proves temporary. Evil often takes the same tired forms in horror movies, but in “ The Vatican Tapes” it shines - and glowers and shrieks - when it takes the form of Angela (Olivia Taylor Dudley), a suitable candidate for exorcism.