Holy Ghost People
DVD
Review by Kam Williams
Headline:
Vulnerable Woman Falls Prey to Charismatic Preacher in Mind
Control 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: 88
minutes
Distributor: XLrator
Media
DVD Extras: Deleted
scenes.
To see a trailer for Holy
Ghost People, visit:
To order a copy of on DVD, visit:
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