Some movies are so disturbing they make me question my own sanity in being a fan of horror. This film, along with The Wicker Man and Lord of Illusions, is at the top of that list. Horror (much like comedy) is notoriously subjective, so I want to be clear about what scared me with this film in order to give a fair review that gives most readers what they need to know: should I see this movie?
The trick here is that this is one of those films that's all too easy to ruin with spoilers. I'm going to bury the spoilers as far down this review as I can, but they're coming. So first things first: if you are a fan of most horror films, and would hate the thought of missing out on one of the 100 greatest horror films ever made, stop reading right now and see this movie. (Yes, it's not only on my top 100, I am still debating if it makes the top 10... I hold this film in that high regard!)
Next thing, a short list just to clear out folks who shouldn't waste their time. One, if you absolutely hate found-footage films on principle, this isn't for you. If you're an American who hates strong British accents, abandon all hope ye who enter here. Also, devout Christians might be upset by a plot line that is more Pagan (or possibly Lovecraftian) than strictly "the devil is the bad guy." Lastly, this is what we call a "slow-burn" film. Gorehounds and ADD-types with no patience for careful plot- and character- development need not apply. Much like Kubrik's The Shining, Roeg's Don't Look Now or Friedkin's The Exorcist, this is a thinking person's horror film.
Still with us? See the film already! It will plague your nightmares!! (Trust me, that's a selling point. If it isn't, you might want to question why you are seeking out a horror film. Good question for your priest/rabbi/psychoanalyst/etc.) Okay, so what's with the found- footage thing? Far from being an overused cliché, in this film it's integral to the plot. There's a church in the south of England that has produced video "proof" of some sort of demonic possession or otherwise malefic interference. The Vatican dispatches a group of investigators who are wearing head-mounted cams and who also deploy a series of statically-mounted cams. This not only justifies the use of the technique within the story, it also minimizes the "queasy cam" factor of people running with hand- held cameras.
---*** SPOILER ALERT ***--- The original title of this film was "The Borderlands", which is quite a good title for a UK audience that is more familiar with Pagan history (and more likely to have seen the original The Wicker Man, which is slyly referenced in an early bit of dialogue). The American re-title of "Final Prayer" might be seen as a little too on the nose, but it really does capture the essence of the horror, as well as anticipate the final moments of the film.
One of the things that makes this film so appealing is the charisma between the two leads, Deacon and Gray. Their dialogue and camaraderie pulls us into the film and also makes us feel for them as things turn inevitably dark. What distinguishes great horror films (as with all great drama) is identification with the characters. The thing that tanks crappy low-budget horror flicks is two-dimensional characters with whom we don't identify, and thus don't care about when they are plunged into peril. When we first meet the priest and first visit the church at the start of the second act, we already involved in the secular cameraman's (Gray's) hopeful optimism and the cynical priest's (Deacon's) jaded cynicism. Here is where the cinema-verite of the found footage conceit either works for you or it doesn't.
"Are you two making that noise?" It should be noted that this film has more static shots (ala Paranormal Activity) than it does crazy hand-held cam stuff (ala Blair Witch). And when all is said and done, there are a few shots that are done from traditional God's-eye view which renders moot the question of how we are seeing all this footage at the end. It is during the second act involvement within the church that we get to see experience some of the first truly creepy moments that feel like The Exorcist by way of Paranormal Activity. The "tent-pole" of the movie (the midpoint, essentially) follows the priest's suicide: that nighttime run through the fields, which admittedly does have the most nausea-inducing chaotic camera-work, is one of the film's moments of absolute peak tension.
Except for the end. I truly hope that no one reading this still hasn't seen the film. The final moments of this movie will haunt my dreams forever. I had this movie "spoiled" for me, in some list that promised "the most brutal ending in a horror film" or some such. But even though I saw a screencap and had a general sense of where the story arc was going, I was sucked in and was genuinely terrified by the time I reached the ending. Horror should kick your soul's ass. If you are patient and smart enough, this one will do the trick. The spoiler said something along the lines of "getting digested by a Lovecraftian horror," but what really struck me on multiple viewings is that this is open to interpretation as to whether this is a traditional "Father of Lies" Satanic deceit or a more modern Lovecraftian slant. Our lads are most fuc'd, either way... This might be the most perfect ending to a horror movie ever.
The trick here is that this is one of those films that's all too easy to ruin with spoilers. I'm going to bury the spoilers as far down this review as I can, but they're coming. So first things first: if you are a fan of most horror films, and would hate the thought of missing out on one of the 100 greatest horror films ever made, stop reading right now and see this movie. (Yes, it's not only on my top 100, I am still debating if it makes the top 10... I hold this film in that high regard!)
Next thing, a short list just to clear out folks who shouldn't waste their time. One, if you absolutely hate found-footage films on principle, this isn't for you. If you're an American who hates strong British accents, abandon all hope ye who enter here. Also, devout Christians might be upset by a plot line that is more Pagan (or possibly Lovecraftian) than strictly "the devil is the bad guy." Lastly, this is what we call a "slow-burn" film. Gorehounds and ADD-types with no patience for careful plot- and character- development need not apply. Much like Kubrik's The Shining, Roeg's Don't Look Now or Friedkin's The Exorcist, this is a thinking person's horror film.
Still with us? See the film already! It will plague your nightmares!! (Trust me, that's a selling point. If it isn't, you might want to question why you are seeking out a horror film. Good question for your priest/rabbi/psychoanalyst/etc.) Okay, so what's with the found- footage thing? Far from being an overused cliché, in this film it's integral to the plot. There's a church in the south of England that has produced video "proof" of some sort of demonic possession or otherwise malefic interference. The Vatican dispatches a group of investigators who are wearing head-mounted cams and who also deploy a series of statically-mounted cams. This not only justifies the use of the technique within the story, it also minimizes the "queasy cam" factor of people running with hand- held cameras.
---*** SPOILER ALERT ***--- The original title of this film was "The Borderlands", which is quite a good title for a UK audience that is more familiar with Pagan history (and more likely to have seen the original The Wicker Man, which is slyly referenced in an early bit of dialogue). The American re-title of "Final Prayer" might be seen as a little too on the nose, but it really does capture the essence of the horror, as well as anticipate the final moments of the film.
One of the things that makes this film so appealing is the charisma between the two leads, Deacon and Gray. Their dialogue and camaraderie pulls us into the film and also makes us feel for them as things turn inevitably dark. What distinguishes great horror films (as with all great drama) is identification with the characters. The thing that tanks crappy low-budget horror flicks is two-dimensional characters with whom we don't identify, and thus don't care about when they are plunged into peril. When we first meet the priest and first visit the church at the start of the second act, we already involved in the secular cameraman's (Gray's) hopeful optimism and the cynical priest's (Deacon's) jaded cynicism. Here is where the cinema-verite of the found footage conceit either works for you or it doesn't.
"Are you two making that noise?" It should be noted that this film has more static shots (ala Paranormal Activity) than it does crazy hand-held cam stuff (ala Blair Witch). And when all is said and done, there are a few shots that are done from traditional God's-eye view which renders moot the question of how we are seeing all this footage at the end. It is during the second act involvement within the church that we get to see experience some of the first truly creepy moments that feel like The Exorcist by way of Paranormal Activity. The "tent-pole" of the movie (the midpoint, essentially) follows the priest's suicide: that nighttime run through the fields, which admittedly does have the most nausea-inducing chaotic camera-work, is one of the film's moments of absolute peak tension.
Except for the end. I truly hope that no one reading this still hasn't seen the film. The final moments of this movie will haunt my dreams forever. I had this movie "spoiled" for me, in some list that promised "the most brutal ending in a horror film" or some such. But even though I saw a screencap and had a general sense of where the story arc was going, I was sucked in and was genuinely terrified by the time I reached the ending. Horror should kick your soul's ass. If you are patient and smart enough, this one will do the trick. The spoiler said something along the lines of "getting digested by a Lovecraftian horror," but what really struck me on multiple viewings is that this is open to interpretation as to whether this is a traditional "Father of Lies" Satanic deceit or a more modern Lovecraftian slant. Our lads are most fuc'd, either way... This might be the most perfect ending to a horror movie ever.
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