At first,
The Unholy seems like an ode to horror films where the devil possesses an innocent soul, when a young deaf girl, Alice (played by
Crickett Brown) claims she can hear the Virgin Mary. After some time, it becomes apparent that something a little more sinister is happening in this small Massachusetts town. As Father Hagen (played by
William Sadler) says throughout the film, “Wherever God goes, the unholy follows.”
The Unholy took the interesting concept of the
James Herbert novel,
Shrine, and started out strong, but lost me after the first third of the movie. Too many corners were cut and I felt as if the last half of the film was on autopilot. If you’re a fan of good old faith-based horror movies, you may enjoy the film, but I found myself wanting more depth to the storyline and jumpscares to satisfy my horror movie needs.