Taglines: Be careful who you pray to.
The Unholy Movie Storyline. Willing to sell his soul for a story, Gerry Fenn, a defrocked journalist who has fallen from grace, arrives in the sleepy town of Banfield, Massachusetts, to investigate a bogus story, only to stumble upon his big break.
As young Alice, a local deaf-mute woman, can suddenly hear, speak, and perform miracles after seeing an otherworldly apparition in the trunk of a dead tree. The news spreads like wildfire, and crowds of people start gathering to witness the modern wonder. Now, the undying spirit speaks through Alice, and the masses vow everlasting devotion. However, is the Lady of Banfield a benevolent, life-giving entity, or does it draw its power from a diabolical source?
The Unholy is a 2021 American supernatural horror film written, produced, and directed by Evan Spiliotopoulos (in his directorial debut), based on the 1983 novel Shrine by James Herbert. Produced by Sam Raimi through his Ghost House Pictures banner, it stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Katie Aselton, William Sadler, Diogo Morgado, Cricket Brown, and Cary Elwes. The film follows on a disgraced journalist (played by Morgan) who discovers a series of seemingly divine miracles in a small New England town and uses them to resurrect his career, but the ‘miracles’ may have a much darker source.
The project was announced in December 2018 as the original title Shrine, with Sony Pictures adapting Herbert’s novel of the same name. The cast was announced between 2018 and 2020, with principal photography commencing in Boston, but on March 14, 2020, filming was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Unholy was theatrically released in the United States on April 2, 2021, by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film had grossed $30 million worldwide and received generally negative reviews from critics, who criticized its predictable story, CGI, PG-13 rating and reliance on jump scares, but some praised its premise and cast performances (particularly Morgan and Brown).
As of June 2, 2021, The Unholy has grossed $15.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $15.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $30.8 million. The Unholy grossed $1.2 million on its first day and a total of $3.2 million from 1,850 theaters its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office behind fellow newcomer Godzilla vs. Kong. The film dropped 23% to $2.4 million in its second weekend, then made $2 million in its third.
About the Story
The film opens with the execution of a woman accused of witchcraft in 1845 in Banfield, Massachusetts. The woman is hanged from a tree and ultimately set on fire. Before she dies, however, her spirit is bound to the body of a doll.
Many years later, disgraced journalist Gerry Fenn works a job reporting on all things strange and unusual. His latest assignment takes him to Boston, where the purported strange activity is revealed to be a teenage prank. As he’s preparing to leave, he discovers the doll, shown earlier in the movie, and purposely crushes it, accidentally setting the woman’s spirit free.
Gerry later gets into an accident as he’s driving away after seeing a young girl, Alice, run across the road. He follows her to the tree from the prologue, the site where he found the doll, and hears her speak before collapsing. When he takes her to a nearby church, he learns that Alice is a deaf-mute and couldn’t have spoken. Gerry decides to stay in town to investigate what he thinks could be a real story rather than a hoax or prank.
The following day Alice stuns the community by speaking and proclaiming that she has been cured by the Virgin Mary. This launches a media furor that is further propelled by other seemingly miraculous healings. The Catholic Church sends Monsignor Delgarde to investigate the claims, assisted by Bishop Gyles. Gerry befriends Alice, during which time he learns that while she has been speaking to a being named Mary, the girl has only assumed that this is the religious figure.
Beginning to suspect that something sinister is occurring due to visions of “Mary” as a horrific entity, Gerry finds a partner in Father Hagan, Alice’s uncle, who was healed by Alice but also suspects the healings’ true nature. Father Hagan discovers papers detailing the occurrences, but before he had the chance to warn anybody he is attacked by Mary and his body is found hanging in the church. Bishop Gyles convinces Gerry to keep the apparent suicide of Hagan quiet as it will tarnish the divine occurrences. His death is declared an accident.
Gerry befriends Natalie, the town’s physician, and reveals that he was found fabricating stories, the reason he is now found reporting hoax stories but hoping this event will relaunch his career. The pair eventually comes across the information Father Hagan discovered, revealing the death of Mary Elnor, the woman from the prologue. Mary sold her soul to Satan in order to gain eternal life and power.
He would allow her and her descendants, revealed to be Alice, to perform “miracles” so people would pledge themselves to her and in turn, Satan. To the shock of Gerry and Monsignor Delgarde, they learn that Bishop Gyles was aware of the entire situation but chose to keep it secret since the miracles have attracted people back to the church. He also warns Gerry that any attempt to tell the truth will fall on deaf ears due to his tarnished reputation.
Alice, who they believe is unaware of Mary’s true nature, wishes to hold a service by the tree and broadcast it to the masses. Delgarde warns that this is a satanic ritual. Anyone who pledges allegiance to Mary will condemn their soul to Hell. Delgarde, along with Gerry and Natalie, tries to perform a ritual in the church to stop this. However, Mary appears and kills him, crushing him with a burning cross.
The Unholy (2021)
Directed by: Evan Spiliotopoulos
Starring: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Katie Aselton, William Sadler, Diogo Morgado, Cricket Brown, Cary Elwes, Bates Wilder, Marina Mazepa, Christine Adams, Gisela Chipe, Dustin Tucker
Screenplay by: Evan Spiliotopoulos
Production Design by: Felicity Abbott
Cinematography by: Craig Wrobleski
Film Editing by: Jake York
Costume Design by: Jennifer Lynn Tremblay
Set Decoration by: Michael C. Stone
Art Direction by: Paul Richards
Music by: Joseph Bishara
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violent content, terror and some strong language.
Distributed by: Sony Pictures Releasing
Release Date: April 2, 2021
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