User reviews

I kinda love this movie. It hit all the right notes for me, all the way through. When I stumbled across it it was labeled as 'horror'... and maybe it is. It certainly has a lot in common with the sort of horror films I enjoy. But I think it's open to interpretation, and some of those interpretations might not find any horror in it at all. Which, again, is something I really like about it. There are certainly no jump scares or bug-eyed monsters, no gore, and moments of overt physical menace. This movie is so thoroughly OFF the reservation of usual commercial cineplex fare that it defies a lot of easy comparisons. The most likely one is probably David Lynch, but that's probably more because of the ambient music and some of the performances. It's an odd story but it's not nearly as opaque many of Lynch's films.

The budget is obviously minuscule, but I don't see where it would have been improved by more cash. The cast is quite good, visually interesting and convincing. The writing is what really sold me, the script is relatively free of clichés and obvious filler and presents a deeper understanding of religion that I'd have expected.

Caveats are that it is slow, does not follow familiar pacing and story arcs, is filmed in black & white... and, again, is low-budget. All of these are bonuses as far as I'm concerned, but I realize that other tastes exist that might find it intolerably 'dull' and unclear.

I'd really like to find that these people have made/are making other films of this quality, so that I can watch them.