de facto film reviews 1.5 stars

Religion and horror have long been a potent combination. By playing upon and twisting the traditions and rituals that many people have at least some passing knowledge of, a religious angle can be a shortcut for filmmakers to examine the very nature of man and the soul. When done well, such as in The Exorcist and The Wicker Man, classic horror can be the result, pitting traditional goodness against absolute evil. Even less serious films like Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight can use a Christian backdrop to kickstart a fun scary story. But when the ideas behind them aren’t well-hammered out, or are too self-serious, religious horror films can be a silly disappointment. Unfortunately, Consecration, the new film from writer-director Christopher Smith falls into this latter category.

The film opens by passing an elderly nun in the street before cutting to the office of Grace (Jena Malone), an ophthalmologist who is working with a patient. After this consultation, Grace receives a call with terrible news. Her brother Michael (Steffan Cennydd), a priest, has died at a convent in Scotland, and the police are investigating it as a murder-suicide. Michael is suspected of killing another priest before throwing himself off a cliff. As we later learn, this cliff has significance as a place where returning Crusaders attempted to cleanse their souls by walking backwards, believing each step backwards forgave one sin. Those who fell to their deaths were said to be “caught by God”. Grace, who has been alienated from her brother because she became a devout atheist in her adult life, is determined to find out the truth of what happened to him. She is assisted by DCI Harris (Thoren Ferguson) and another priest, Father Romero (Danny Huston). She is stymied by the nuns at the convent, including the strange Mother Superior (Janet Suzman).

Film Review: 'Consecration' Merges Jena Malone with Convent-Based Scares - Awards Radar Courtesy IFC Films

The script, from Smith and co-writer Laurie Cook, is the film’s primary downfall. What starts out as a potentially interesting psychological horror-drama with an examination of faith devolves into a muddled mess of visions, creepy nuns, and magical powers. The film is crammed full of plot points such as a murderous adoptive father, holy relics, Vatican land ownership which conveniently hampers police investigation, and a fallen angel. This overstuffed narrative could be forgiven if it came together to be anything interesting or even fun, but it is neither. Barely reaching ninety minutes, the film plods along interminably before finally reaching its ludicrous conclusion.

Smith’s direction is competent, but no more than that. The film’s minimal action never impresses, and there are some very distracting effects in two scenes. The only bright spot in the film is in the performances of Huston and Suzman as the film’s lead religious figures. Along with some much-needed gravitas, Huston’s warmth and Suzman’s cold strangeness provide an interesting contrast. Jena Malone gives a decent performance, but she is asked to react to too many strange visions and odd coincidences, and it hampers caring about the character. She’s also saddled with an accent that while serviceable, makes one wonder why they didn’t just cast an actress from the U.K. It’s unfortunate, because Malone has shown as recently as 2021’s Lorelei that she can be great when given the right material. When Consecration reaches theaters this weekend, pray that no one asks you to see it.

Consecration is in theaters beginning Thursday, February 9th.