Another great exorcism movie that I can’t believe I forgot to add to my possession picks but I do have one major flaw with it; the exorcism and other key points of the film are spoken in Polish and it doesn’t have available subtitles. The context lets you what is happening but it would’ve nice to actually know what was said at some points, especially the end.
Other than that The Shrine, directed by Jon Knautz and one of the writers Trevor Matthews who also stars in the movie did a good job and I really did enjoy watching it.
The plot is revolved around journalist Carmen (Cindy Sampson) and intern Sara (Meghan Heffern) who want to find out about a missing college student who visited an area in Poland and simply vanished. This is something that Carmen, on a decline in her career, finds out has happened to several people in this particular area. Heading to the missing person’s home she also finds out from his found luggage that his last journal entry was about a mystery fog that stated he was going to check out.
Sara, Carmen and Carmen’s boyfriend Marcus (Aaron Ashmore) head to the polish village to investigate. The townsfolk are weird and old fashioned and get angry at the nosy city interlopers, demanding they leave.
Deciding to check out this mist of enigma anyway and Sara and Carmen both venture through it, soon wishing they would’ve stayed away as warned, and are never to be the same again.
I don’t want to say what happens after this as it would spoil the movie but horror fans know that cults, devil worship and demon summoning remain a staple in the genre but very few manage to deliver some genuine scares, and I feel Knautz managed to break out of the box at times.
I loved the house scenes, the faces and actions were super freaky and I really enjoyed watching it unfold.
Maybe I’m just not picky when it comes to horror or I’m easily pleased but I’ve read a lot of bad reviews about this film and personally, I disagree with them and would, and have, recommended The Shrine to other horror fans.
If exorcism films, cult movies or anything about demons are your thing, you’ll like at least parts of The Shrine.
Stay out of the fog.
WICKED RATING: 6/10
Title: Shrine
Directors: Jon Knautz
Writer(s): Jon Knautz, Brendan Moore, Trevor Matthews
Stars: Aaron Ashmore, Cindy Sampson, Meghan Heffern, Trevor Matthews
Year: 2010
Studio/ Production Co: Wesley Clover Media, Brookstreet Pictures
Budget: $1,500,000 (estimated)
Language: English & Polish
Length: 85mins
Sub-Genre: Exorcisms
