The Unholy Review: An Interesting Premise Let Down By Poor CG

Release date: April 2, 2021
Running time: 100 minutes
Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Cricket Brown, William Sadler 
Director: Evan Spiliotopoulos

A hearing-impaired girl is visited by the Virgin Mary and can suddenly hear, speak, and heal the sick. As people flock to witness her miracles, terrifying events unfold. Are they the work of the Virgin Mary or something much more sinister?

The Unholy has an interesting premise and a good setup.  I liked the religious angle and the ideas behind it; where some miracles and the fervor to believe grip a small town.  This film is propelled by its two strong leads in Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Cricket Brown.  Jeffrey Dean Morgan really carries the film with his performance, showing a conflicted and down on his luck reporter who stumbles into the biggest story of his career.  He is relatable and mysterious, the perfect protagonist for a horror film.  And Cricket Brown as Alice is another bright spot for this film.  I loved her character, so charming and committed to her faith and the newfound miracles that she is able to perform.  And the movie does have an overarching sense of dread that occurs early on, which is highlighted in its setting and music.  The film lets you know early on that there is more to this story than originally thought, and I liked the slow progression as you learn more about this.

But The Unholy's downfall, which is the undoing of some horror films, is that the CG is, frankly, very bad.  The film uses a lot of CG for the supernatural aspects of it, and these break the suspension of disbelief as soon as you see it.  Even the initial minor effects are jarring to see and this just caused any scare factor to wash away.  It is tough to be worried when you are laughing at the most pivotal scenes.  And the CG also affects other aspects, like in a scene where the film inexplicable slows down for a CG moment.  I couldn't tell if this was for dramatic effect or not, but it just looked bad.  Additionally, the film also deals with the commercialization and monetization of religion, which is an interesting topic and one that I love exploring in movies.  But the characters that the film uses to delve into this feel a little overdone; they feel almost made for TV and are in sharp contrast to the more natural and believable main characters.  These make for a conflicted experience; the strong leads and good setting offset by the disbelief breaking CG and less believable side characters.  The Unholy is not a bad way to spend an evening, but maybe wait until you can rent or stream it before you do.  

The Unholy has great lead performances, an interesting story, and a good sense of dread, but is let down by CG that breaks the suspension of disbelief and limits any scare factor.

Rent it.

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The Unholy is available in theaters nationwide on April 2, 2021.  For showtimes, click here. 

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