isabelle_guns
Refugee
Summary:
Father Lankester Merrin thinks that he has glimpsed the face of Evil. In the years following World War II, Merrin is relentlessly haunted by memories of the unspeakable brutality perpetrated against the innocent people of his parish during the War. In the wake of all the horror he has seen, both his faith in his fellow man and his faith in the Almighty have deserted him, and he can no longer honestly call himself a man of God. Merrin has traveled far from his native Holland in a desperate attempt to try to forget and escape all the evil that he had witnessed there. While currently in Cairo, Egypt, he is approached by a collector of rare antiquities and asked to participate in a British archeological excavation in the remote Turkana region of Kenya. They have unearthed something extraordinary and unusual...a Christian Byzantine church dating from the 5th century, long before Christianity arrived in East Africa, and in inexplicably perfect condition--like it had been buried immediately after it was completed. The collector wants Merrin, an Oxford-educated archeologist, to find an ancient relic hidden within the church before the British do. Interested, Merrin agrees to take the job. But beneath the church, something much older and malevolent sleeps, waiting to be awoken. When the archeologists start excavating, strange things begin occuring, and the local Turkana tribesmen who were hired to work refuse to enter the site. Things only get worse and worse, ultimately resulting in madness and death. Merrin watches helplessly as the atrocities of war are repeated against another innocent village--atrocities he had hoped and prayed never to see again. The blood of innocents flows freely on the East African plain, but the horror has only just begun. In the place where Evil was born, Merrin will finally see its true face.
Story Developement:
The idea was a good one and even though the progression of the movie was slow, the story behind Father Merrin's life and his first encounter with the demon was intriguing. Even though I enjoyed the plot, something was still missing from the story developement. There were no storyline experimentations and the movie seemed like a francise cashing project. I left the theatre empty and unimpressed. There were some memorbale horror scenes but nothing compared to the original. Not even a sibliminal devil shot.
Acting:
The acting of father Merrin was awesome, everyone else put me asleep. It was also a bad script in general, leaving not enough for the actors to work with.
Make-up:
A lot of blood and gore......I like that. It looked so real that it made me sick and I almost puked in the theater.
Costumes:
Period costumes of the 50's were done subtly without being obvious.
Cinematography:
Nothing to adventurous or noteworthy. The crew played it safe on this one. I did however like all the location shots....very Indiana Jones!
Final thought:
In terms of fright factor, seeing this movie is not worth it. Read the script or the book instead.
Father Lankester Merrin thinks that he has glimpsed the face of Evil. In the years following World War II, Merrin is relentlessly haunted by memories of the unspeakable brutality perpetrated against the innocent people of his parish during the War. In the wake of all the horror he has seen, both his faith in his fellow man and his faith in the Almighty have deserted him, and he can no longer honestly call himself a man of God. Merrin has traveled far from his native Holland in a desperate attempt to try to forget and escape all the evil that he had witnessed there. While currently in Cairo, Egypt, he is approached by a collector of rare antiquities and asked to participate in a British archeological excavation in the remote Turkana region of Kenya. They have unearthed something extraordinary and unusual...a Christian Byzantine church dating from the 5th century, long before Christianity arrived in East Africa, and in inexplicably perfect condition--like it had been buried immediately after it was completed. The collector wants Merrin, an Oxford-educated archeologist, to find an ancient relic hidden within the church before the British do. Interested, Merrin agrees to take the job. But beneath the church, something much older and malevolent sleeps, waiting to be awoken. When the archeologists start excavating, strange things begin occuring, and the local Turkana tribesmen who were hired to work refuse to enter the site. Things only get worse and worse, ultimately resulting in madness and death. Merrin watches helplessly as the atrocities of war are repeated against another innocent village--atrocities he had hoped and prayed never to see again. The blood of innocents flows freely on the East African plain, but the horror has only just begun. In the place where Evil was born, Merrin will finally see its true face.
Story Developement:
The idea was a good one and even though the progression of the movie was slow, the story behind Father Merrin's life and his first encounter with the demon was intriguing. Even though I enjoyed the plot, something was still missing from the story developement. There were no storyline experimentations and the movie seemed like a francise cashing project. I left the theatre empty and unimpressed. There were some memorbale horror scenes but nothing compared to the original. Not even a sibliminal devil shot.
Acting:
The acting of father Merrin was awesome, everyone else put me asleep. It was also a bad script in general, leaving not enough for the actors to work with.
Make-up:
A lot of blood and gore......I like that. It looked so real that it made me sick and I almost puked in the theater.
Costumes:
Period costumes of the 50's were done subtly without being obvious.
Cinematography:
Nothing to adventurous or noteworthy. The crew played it safe on this one. I did however like all the location shots....very Indiana Jones!
Final thought:
In terms of fright factor, seeing this movie is not worth it. Read the script or the book instead.
