The Convent (2000)
7/10
A very goofy, fun film with lots of gore. Reminiscent of Night of the Demons or The Evil Dead.
22 November 2006
A group of college students (cheerleader, goth, stoner, jock, virgin) decide to visit the old convent that was shut down due to a nasty incident that occurred. The goth chick, Mo, is captured by wannabe devil worshipers and they unwittingly unleash demons. As demons take over the bodies of nice girl Clorissa's boyfriend and friends, only Adult Christine (played awesomely well by Adrienne Barbeau) can stop them.

The opening scene sums up what is to follow. A beautiful babe in a school girl outfit and leather jacket with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth slaughters nuns and priests with a baseball bat, shotgun, and matches while "You Don't Own Me" plays. If you like this sequence, you will like the rest. Nuttiness ensues involving drugs, virgin sacrifices, forced abortions, gay Satanists, ditzy cheerleaders, and a pugnacious pug. Oh, and Coolio and Bill Moseley make appearances as no-good coppers.

It should be noted that this is one of the earlier works from The Gravedancers director, Mike Mendez and won the Audience Award at Fantafestival.

I have to say that my favorite scene (other than the opening) was set to the song "Dreamweaver" where stoner Biff gets high off shrooms and weed, hears Jesus talking to him, and tries unsuccessfully to mate with a demon.

There were incredibly likable characters you watched run around. Goth chick Mo (also in The Gravedancers) is adorable, Stoner dude Biff was hilarious, and Young/ Adult Christine oozed coolness. Unfortunately, none of these great characters get more than a half hour screen time. Instead, we are stuck with the good girl Clorissa.

As for the religious undertones, or in this case, way overtones, it is not preachy or sacrilegious. Mendez comes across as showing what is scary about the idea of having to conform within the confines of a convent.

I saw that the SFX received bad comments in other reviews, but I felt was okay overall. The make-up was a tad silly in some parts like glow in the dark veins and neon blood. However, the prosthetics used to raise the demons foreheads looked realistic and the "blood shower" scene was cool. The "Antichrist birth" scene was especially good considering this was low budget and it was only on screen for about one minute.

Favorite Quote: Satanist asks, "Are you the spawn of the Devil?" Nerd replies, "No, I'm a Lambda."… Or when Clorissa says, "My brother's going to be the next Antichrist? Mom's gonna be pi*ssed." DVD Extras: Audio Options (inc. Spanish Subtitles), Commentary, Behind the Scenes, 1 Deleted short Scene, and "Gore on Demand" which showed the death scenes up close and in slow motion.

Bottom Line: A very goofy, fun film with lots of gore. Reminiscent of Night of the Demons or The Evil Dead.

Rating: 7/10

Molly Celaschi www.HorrorYearbook.com MySpace.com/HorrorYearbook
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