The Unholy, Based on a James Herbert Novel

Late horror novelist James Herbert was often dubbed by critics “the British Stephen King,” but his American publishers were never able to translate those comparisons into sales for their editions. Believe me—I was once involved with such efforts. At least the book was good. Six film adaptations did not push him onto U.S. bestseller lists either, even though several were quite well-made. It opened to little fanfare, but the archetypal horrors resonate surprisingly deeply in director-screenwriter Evan Spiliotopouplos’s The Unholy, produced by Sam Raimi and based on Herbert’s Shrine, which airs tomorrow for service personnel on American Forces Network.

Gerald Fenn is a lot like many journalists, but he got caught fabricating his fake news stories. Ten years into his disgrace, Fenn survives by reporting on questionable occult phenomenon for a tabloid. Although a reported cattle mutilation is too bogus even for his standards, he finds a potential consolation prize when he unearths a kern doll on the farmer’s land. Unwisely, he smashes the head to make it look creepier.

The next day, the deaf-mute orphan Alice Pagett is miraculously cured. She claims she heard the Virgin Mary speak to her and then channels her divine power to cure others. Soon, Banfield, MA appears on track to become the next Lourdes. Boston’s Bishop Gyles assumes control of the scene, while Monsignor Delgarde from the Vatican investigates whether the reported healings truly qualify as miracles.

However, her guardian-uncle, Father William Hagen has visions of a demonic figure standing behind Pagett. That would be a very different Mary. Mary Elnor is a witch-turned-demon, who sold her soul to Satan, before the Puritans sealed her into the Kern baby during the prologue. Fenn botched this assignment even worse, but he valiantly fights to make amends.

Spiliotopouplos’s adaptation of Herbert’s novel embraces big, cosmic themes of good and evil, taking direct inspiration from the Biblical commandment against worshipping false idols. It also reflects a current split in the Church, represented by the smooth Cardinal Gyles and the more conservative Monsignor Delgarde. Regardless, the good Father Hagan is indeed a good Father, who might have been the most sympathetic priest portrayed in film during the entire year of 2021.

The film’s second great strength is its cast of character actors, very definitely including William Sadler, whose portrayal of Father Hagan is often quite poignant. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is suitably rumpled as Fenn, who perhaps fittingly loses his cynicism when confronting the horrors that unfold. Diogo Morgado (best known for playing Jesus in multiple projects) is a forceful, reassuring presence as Monsignor Delgarde, who demonstrates faith and intellectual rigor are not mutually exclusive. Cary Elwes (playing according to type) is amusingly slick and wily as the shortsighted Bishop.

Ghost Light: Good Luck Staging Macbeth

Shakespeare never gets the credit he deserves for being a writer of the macabre. Hamlet has ghosts and graveyards, while Richard III is all about a psychotic hunchback. The best example is probably Macbeth, with its witches and curses. Of course, we are supposed to call it “The Scottish Play” because of actors’ superstitions. Remember how they refuse to say the “M word” the next time an actor lectures you on “science.” Nevertheless, when somebody tempts fate by uttering the unutterable, it leads to a lot of supernatural trouble. On the plus side, the amateurish summer stock troupe’s performances improve tremendously in John Stimpson’s Ghost Light, which releases today on DVD.

Henry Asquith’s company has come to mount the Big Mac play in a picturesque country playhouse. During the intense week of rehearsals, they will stay in the comfy farm house adjoining the converted-barn theater. Hammy Alex Pankhurst will be playing Macbeth thanks to his deep pockets. Brooding Thomas Ingram will be playing Banquo, even though he believes he should have the title role, by virtue of his superior talent. Liz Beth Stevens does not disagree with Ingram, whom she is seeing on the sly, behind the pompous Pankhurst’s oblivious back.

Disgusted by it all, Ingram and Stevens invoke the dreaded name and the cursed play responds. Soon, they find themselves in positions very much like those in the play. However, their rapport is threatened by the arrival of a mysterious backpacking yoga tourist, who agrees to take on the part of “Second Witch.” Then accidents start happening.

Ghost Light is a low-key supernatural comedy that is small in scope, but still rather pleasant to watch. It features a game cast, all of whom seem to enjoy the larkiness of it all, especially Cary Elwes, who absolutely gorges on the scenery as Pankhurst. Arguably, Elwes doesn’t get the horror cred he deserves either, even though he was in several dozen Saw movies and had recurring roles on Stranger Things and The X-Files.

Be that as it may, Roger Bart scores most of the film’s laughs as Asquith, who manages to be both indulgent of his actors, but still bitingly sarcastic. Tom Riley (Leonardo in Da Vinci’s Demons) and Shannyn Sossamon go all in as the Macbeth-tormented lover-thesps, while Carol Kane acts like Carol Kane, as Madeline Styne, as “The First Witch.”

There are some clever bits in Ghost Light, but Stimpson and co-screenwriter Geoffrey Taylor are more interested in Noises Off-style back-stage gags than really delving into the Bard’s creepy side. One wonders what Liam Gavin and the team behind A Dark Song might have done with this premise. Still, Stimpson & Taylor deserve credit for originality. Recommended as an appealing palate-cleanser for horror fans, Ghost Light releases today on DVD and VOD.

Don’t Sleep: Alex Rocco’s Final Film

According to imdb, this is the ninth time Cary Elwes has played a doctor. Considering several of those times has been as Dr. Lawrence Gordon in the Saw franchise, he hasn’t been a particularly helpful doctor. That is true again for Dr. Richard Sommers. Initially, he appeared to cure disturbed young Zach Bradford, but he really just kicked some seriously sinister issues down the road. The supernatural chickens finally come home to roost in Rick Bieber’s Don’t Sleep (trailer here), which opens this Friday in Los Angeles.

Bradford used to have nightmares about a doppelganger inhabiting a fake-looking nightmare world, who would replace him in the real world once he gained sufficient strength. His memories of that period are hazy, but apparently the nightmares eventually went away. Everything seems fine now. He is in his final year of law school and about to move in with his girlfriend Shawn Edmon. They even find the perfect “love nest,” right across the street from the McMansion owned by their super-cool landlords, Vincent and Jo Marino.

The Marinos often have the kids over for dinner with his spry old father. Unfortunately, the jawa-like creatures that once haunted Bradford’s dreams have started tormenting Mr. Marino senior. When they get done with him, they will move onto Jo Marino, while toying with the increasingly freaked out Bradford. It gets so bad, he will seek out Dr. Sommers to ask, what the heck, dude?

Even though the film is called Don’t Sleep, most of the bad stuff happens while the characters are wide awake. It ought to be called Don’t Rent to Cary Elwes’ Patients. Logic is not real priority here. To be fair, extensive reshoots may not have been an option given the death in 2015 of co-star Alex Rocco. Of course, that also implies this film has been on the shelf for a while.

In addition to the late, great Rocco (Moe Greene in The Godfather), who is both creepy and tragic as Mr. Marino, Don’t Sleep also mind-blowingly features Jill Hennessy as Bradford’s mom. Wow, seriously. Rounding out the recognizable names, Drea de Matteo falls apart spectacularly as Jo Marino. Of course, Elwes is in his element playing Dr. Sommers, the cold fish child psychologist. The problem here is not weak support. In fact, you could argue Alex Carter has almost too much screen presence as Vincent Marino, given how drab and passive Dominic Sherwood and Charlbi Dean Kriek are as the young lovers.

Perhaps it is also partly due to the lackluster special effects, but the big climatic revelation does not land, falling somewhere between a face-palm and a head-scratch. However, the closing theme song, “Devil Inside,” performed Stacy Earl and Skipp Whitman is so wonderfully cheesy, we believe it deserves Oscar consideration. Don’t Sleep is not recommended per se, but it is the sort horror film indulgent fans might find themselves inadvertently defending for reasons that escape them. Regardless, it is definitely a film to stream later on Netflix or Shudder, but for now, it opens this Friday (9/29) in LA at the Laemmle Monica Film Center and releases day-and-date on iTunes.