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Our Prayers Are Put to the Test in the Demonic Horror Classic “The Unholy”

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Written by Shannon McGrew

The last few months I’ve had the opportunity to review some of the classic 80s horror films from the Vestron Collector’s Series. Each one has been a new experience for me and I’ve learned to appreciate the passion and intense amount of work that has gone into such films as “The Gate” and “Wishmaster”. The most recent title to be released in this Collector’s Series is the 1988 horror film, “The Unholy”, from director Camilo Vila starring Ben Cross, Hal Holbrook, and Ruben Rabasa.

If you are familiar with my writing, you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of religious based horror, so one could say I was definitely looking forward to diving head first into this film. The plot of “The Unholy” is pretty simple – a priest is sent to destroy a demon, disguised as a beautiful woman, that is killing priests in the act of sinning, and it’s up to Father Michael to eradicate this evil once and for all. Considering what some Catholic priests are known to do, I would think that this demon would be doing us a favor, however that’s not what this film is about. Instead we are shown how human these priests are as they succumb to the temptations of the world.

My favorite thing about this movie is the practical effects used by the makeup team. Whether it be the demon’s true shape or the death sequence of the priests, the level of detail and attention to gore was much more impressive than if CGI had been in its place. I also really enjoyed the notion that this demon was disguised as a tempestuous thing of beauty who would entice those that are supposed to be the most holy and devout. Once she had her claws in her victims, the bloodshed flowed to the delight of the demon, and I’m sure to those in the audience.

In terms of acting, it’s pretty on par with what you would expect from an 80s horror flick; meaning there was a lot of dialogue that was overacted that elicited quite a few laughs from me. One of my favorite characters was the womanizing hunk of a man, Luke, played by William Ross. Luke was the owner of a Satanic club that found itself intertwined with the death of the previous priest. Luke’s storyline was laughably absurd as he tried to explain that all his Satanic acts were just for show and nothing more. Regardless of how ridiculous I found him, I couldn’t help but enjoy his story arc and his horrible New Orleans accent.

Is this film scary? Not really, as it doesn’t present the same level of scares that we are used to now. However, with that said, I could see why people would have been uncomfortable with the film back when it was released. At the height of the Satanic Panic movement, a film that showcased a Satanic club along with the sinful nature of priests may have been a bit much for the more conservative folks. I don’t know what the response was when the film first came out but I hope it ended up ruffling a few feathers along the way.

Overall, “The Unholy” has some genuinely impressive aspects to it, most notably with the practical effects. The acting left a lot to be desired but I’m not sure if that’s due to the talent or from the dialogue given to the actors. However, there were a few moments that shined and I thoroughly enjoyed William Ross as the pretend Satanist. I like that the film had a pay off in the end and that we were finally able to see the creature that inhabited the beautiful woman come to life. “The Unholy” isn’t a film that was meant to win a ton of awards and receive a slew of accolades, but it’s a fun viewing experience and really, what more can you ask for?

“The Unholy” is now available to own on Blu-ray from Lionsgate

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‘Invisible Man 2’ Is “Closer Than Its Ever Been” to Happening

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Elisabeth Moss in a very well-thought-out statement said in an interview for Happy Sad Confused that even though there have been some logistical issues for doing Invisible Man 2 there is hope on the horizon.

Podcast host Josh Horowitz asked about the follow-up and if Moss and director Leigh Whannell were any closer to cracking a solution to getting it made. “We are closer than we have ever been to cracking it,” said Moss with a huge grin. You can see her reaction at the 35:52 mark in the below video.

Happy Sad Confused

Whannell is currently in New Zealand filming another monster movie for Universal, Wolf Man, which might be the spark that ignites Universal’s troubled Dark Universe concept which hasn’t gained any momentum since Tom Cruise’s failed attempt at resurrecting The Mummy.

Also, in the podcast video, Moss says she is not in the Wolf Man film so any speculation that it’s a crossover project is left in the air.

Meanwhile, Universal Studios is in the middle of constructing a year-round haunt house in Las Vegas which will showcase some of their classic cinematic monsters. Depending on attendance, this could be the boost the studio needs to get audiences interested in their creature IPs once more and to get more films made based on them.

The Las Vegas project is set to open in 2025, coinciding with their new proper theme park in Orlando called Epic Universe.

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Jake Gyllenhaal’s Thriller ‘Presumed Innocent’ Series Gets Early Release Date

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Jake gyllenhaal presumed innocent

Jake Gyllenhaal’s limited series Presumed Innocent is dropping on AppleTV+ on June 12 instead of June 14 as originally planned. The star, whose Road House reboot has brought mixed reviews on Amazon Prime, is embracing the small screen for the first time since his appearance on Homicide: Life on the Street in 1994.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s in ‘Presumed Innocent’

Presumed Innocent is being produced by David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, and Warner Bros. It is an adaptation of Scott Turow’s 1990 film in which Harrison Ford plays a lawyer doing double duty as an investigator looking for the murderer of his colleague.

These types of sexy thrillers were popular in the ’90s and usually contained twist endings. Here’s the trailer for the original:

According to Deadline, Presumed Innocent doesn’t stray far from the source material: “…the Presumed Innocent series will explore obsession, sex, politics and the power and limits of love as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.”

Up next for Gyllenhaal is the Guy Ritchie action movie titled In the Grey scheduled for release in January 2025.

Presumed Innocent is an eight-episode limited series set to stream on AppleTV+ starting June 12.

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Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

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The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

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