By far the worst in that sense is the "gangster priest". Dunno what else to call him. If you know the Monty Python sketch with the mafia bishops, you will have an immediate sense of what I'm talking about. This guy behaves completely like a mobster. You wanna portray the Church as corrupt? Fine. But do it in a half-way reasonable, sensible manner, not like this. The bishop starts playing pool while issuing his many threats, then SUDDENLY is used as a jump-scare device, when he for no apparent reasons shouts and smacks a billiard ball with a stick (or something like that). What a dumb, overblown scene.
Much worse than his mobster-like persona is his complete lack of motive. WHY does he so insist on keeping the woman and her child in a house that is haunted? What vested interest does he even have in what happens with these three? There is some half-baked "explanation" he gives to the woman, about an hour into the movie, but it clarifies nothing, hence we're none the wiser. He seems to exist purely as a plot-device - to keep the three people from abandoning the house.
In the end, there's a nonsensical scene with the bishop meeting some National-Socialists and discussing the house. But that point I was utterly disinterested, so perhaps I missed a key detail. Maybe it all makes sense, but I doubt it. I very much doubt they managed to logically connect the National-Socialists to the house, and why the bishop would want to have tenants in it.
The "occultist" mumbles so much you need subtitles for every single scene he is in. It's as if he's doing modern theater or something, just seems eccentric for the sake of it. A Brando fan?
The priest's depiction is typical of a writer detached from reality, who "knows" about the Church only what he'd seen in movies. This priest is reluctant to copulate with his new wife, because... why? Because he is uptight about sex? Because sex is "impure"? If this writer actually thinks that any priests EVER - from any denomination - were repelled by sex and reluctant to stick their you-know-whats into women, think again: that is utter nonsense. Those guys and gals (nuns) hoompa-loompa like rabbits.
Ghosts are, once again, completely illogical, as well as cretinous...
"The woman was tortured and mutilated by Minassian Order monks many years ago, and now she holds your daughter captive as revenge."
The kid is not the priest's daughter, she barely even knows him. Besides, even if she were, the priest himself didn't torture the ghost woman, so why take it all out on the little girl? Why not kill the bishop instead?
Yeah, movie ghosts and their nearly always brazen lack of logical motives for being hostile... I wonder why writers think they can get away with this. Why they think ghosts are allowed to be so stupid. It makes the writing easier but it only piles on more nonsense.
"Her own unborn was ripped out by monks, and now she now holds your daughter captive, as her own."
So which is it then? The occultist gave us two different motives for why the ghost snatched the girl.
I didn't appreciate the subtle pro-Republican Spanish Civil War sub-sub-plot. If the director wanted to kiss the Establishment's rear end he should have done it in a more obvious way. You know, the usual obvious, in-your-face, Red-propaganda kind of way. I mean, why be shy with your Red leanings? Everyone in the film industry is a Red now. Might as well let it all hang: be open with your political extremi$m. It's hip to be an extremi$t these days. Not to mention PC hence profitable.
Ditto "The Shining" rip-off. Might as well name the priest Jack Nicholson, and the wife Overlook Hotel.
There are some interesting scenes on occasion, but too many things here are just plain average, or worse.
The last half-hour is an even bigger letdown. Instead of being more interesting and exciting, it consists of random scenes, inane speeches and a rather bad soundtrack.
Much worse than his mobster-like persona is his complete lack of motive. WHY does he so insist on keeping the woman and her child in a house that is haunted? What vested interest does he even have in what happens with these three? There is some half-baked "explanation" he gives to the woman, about an hour into the movie, but it clarifies nothing, hence we're none the wiser. He seems to exist purely as a plot-device - to keep the three people from abandoning the house.
In the end, there's a nonsensical scene with the bishop meeting some National-Socialists and discussing the house. But that point I was utterly disinterested, so perhaps I missed a key detail. Maybe it all makes sense, but I doubt it. I very much doubt they managed to logically connect the National-Socialists to the house, and why the bishop would want to have tenants in it.
The "occultist" mumbles so much you need subtitles for every single scene he is in. It's as if he's doing modern theater or something, just seems eccentric for the sake of it. A Brando fan?
The priest's depiction is typical of a writer detached from reality, who "knows" about the Church only what he'd seen in movies. This priest is reluctant to copulate with his new wife, because... why? Because he is uptight about sex? Because sex is "impure"? If this writer actually thinks that any priests EVER - from any denomination - were repelled by sex and reluctant to stick their you-know-whats into women, think again: that is utter nonsense. Those guys and gals (nuns) hoompa-loompa like rabbits.
Ghosts are, once again, completely illogical, as well as cretinous...
"The woman was tortured and mutilated by Minassian Order monks many years ago, and now she holds your daughter captive as revenge."
The kid is not the priest's daughter, she barely even knows him. Besides, even if she were, the priest himself didn't torture the ghost woman, so why take it all out on the little girl? Why not kill the bishop instead?
Yeah, movie ghosts and their nearly always brazen lack of logical motives for being hostile... I wonder why writers think they can get away with this. Why they think ghosts are allowed to be so stupid. It makes the writing easier but it only piles on more nonsense.
"Her own unborn was ripped out by monks, and now she now holds your daughter captive, as her own."
So which is it then? The occultist gave us two different motives for why the ghost snatched the girl.
I didn't appreciate the subtle pro-Republican Spanish Civil War sub-sub-plot. If the director wanted to kiss the Establishment's rear end he should have done it in a more obvious way. You know, the usual obvious, in-your-face, Red-propaganda kind of way. I mean, why be shy with your Red leanings? Everyone in the film industry is a Red now. Might as well let it all hang: be open with your political extremi$m. It's hip to be an extremi$t these days. Not to mention PC hence profitable.
Ditto "The Shining" rip-off. Might as well name the priest Jack Nicholson, and the wife Overlook Hotel.
There are some interesting scenes on occasion, but too many things here are just plain average, or worse.
The last half-hour is an even bigger letdown. Instead of being more interesting and exciting, it consists of random scenes, inane speeches and a rather bad soundtrack.