Holy Ghost People (FILM REVIEW)
Holy Ghost People
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Teen Seeks to Save Sister from Cult in Riveting Thriller
In 1967, Peter Adair shot an
eye-opening documentary in the backwoods of West Virginia where he found a Pentecostal congregation
conducting services that included such bizarre practices as snake handling and
speaking in tongues. That expose, Holy Ghost People, ostensibly now serves as
the inspiration for this identically-titled thriller about a daring attempt to
rescue a woman ensnared in a dangerous cult on a compound hidden deep in the Appalachian Mountains.
During the haunting
flick’s opening tableau, we are introduced to Charlotte (Emma Greenwell), the
film’s 19 year-old narrator. We find her working as a bartender at Saints and
Sinners, a seedy dive catering to a blue-collar clientele.
At the end
of her shift, she takes a hunky ex-Marine home with her. But it’s not what
you’re thinking; she scraped the drunk vet off the ground in the wake of a
brutal beating by bouncers outside the nightclub.
After Wayne’s
(Brendan McCarthy) hangover wears off, she nurses him back to health while simultaneously
confiding, “I need some help. My sister’s in trouble, real trouble.”
Charlotte further explains
that Liz (Buffy Charlet) has come under the spell of Brother Billy (Joe Egender),
the charismatic pastor of the Church of One Accord. She seals the deal by letting
him know that she has nowhere to turn for help, since she and her sibling are
orphans with no other relatives.
That
desperate plea works, and soon the two undertake the scary trek up Sugar Mountain.
En route, they pass religious billboards emblazoned with Christian scriptures
and sayings like “Jesus Saves” and “Repent or Perish.”
Upon
arriving, rather than owning up about their true intentions, they feign being heathens
in need of redemption in order to infiltrate the congregation. However,
suspicious Brother Billy warns them about the dire fate which awaits anyone who
speaks with forked tongue, before pressuring Wayne to play with a deadly serpent as proof
of his faith.
Directed by
Mitchell Altieri, Holy Ghost People is an edge-of-your-seat thriller which
proves to be surprisingly absorbing for a production mounted on a modest
budget. Credit a cleverly-concealed script with a few surprising twists that I
dare not divulge. The picture also features some great acting by a talented
cast which threw itself into the project with praiseworthy abandon.
A
faith-based answer to Snakes on a
Plane. Snakes in the Pulpit!
Very Good
(3 stars)
Rated R
for violence, sexuality, profanity, brief nudity and drug use
Running time: 92 minutes
Distributor: XLrator
Media
To see a trailer for Holy
Ghost People, visit:
Or:
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/holyghostpeople/#videos-large
No comments:
Post a Comment