Hey, guys!

So...I was thinking of doing something a little different tonight. I saw a movie a while ago, and it's been haunting me ever since. What I'm hoping this'll do is help me get over it as much as it can.

So, here we go. This is my review for The Unholy.

(SPOILER-FREE)

This movie is TERRIFYING. I have to admit, I'm a pretty big pussy, so this probably had more of an effect on me than other audiences. But the tension and the atmosphere made me SUPER uncomfortable. And yes, this is a jumpscare-heavy movie, but these jumpscares work. Every. Single. Jumpscare. Got me.

Yeah, the story's pretty generic, and some of the acting could've been better, plus there were a couple of moments where I felt like things happened too quickly, but I can forgive that because of the presence I felt from the movie. Overall, a solid 8/10

(SPOILERS)

The movie focuses on Gerry Fenn, a disgraced journalist who goes from town to town looking for the juiciest stories. While investigating a hoax story in a small Boston town, he comes across and breaks a mysterious corn doll, unintentionally releasing a malevolent spirit. Soon afterwards, supposed miracles begin to take place all over the town, caused by a former deaf/mute named Alice Pagett. Gerry, however, begins to suspect something sinister behinds these miracles, and he embarks ona perilous journey to discover the truth.

Right away, this is probably a plotline you've heard many times before. And yeah, to be fair, it is pretty predictable. But I went into this movie trailer-free, so I didn't really know what to expect until I saw it in theaters. And most of all, the plot isn't where this movie shines.

No-no-no, this movie's strength, in my opinion, is in its horror.

Like I said before, the movie does rely on jumpscares as it's main source of terror. But, again, these jumpscares work. The movie gives most of them barely any buildup, which helps to trick the viewer and get a bigger reaction. And where there aren't jumpscares, the creep factor is POWERFUL.

Take for instance, the nightmare scene. Once again, this a pretty cliched scene: The main character has a nightmare/vision of a mysterious, scary creature, that soon jumps at them. But this movie does it differently: There's not really a jumpscare. Yeah, a part of it made me jump a little, but the scene relies more on the suspense as a means to scare the audience, and believe me, it worked. Everything, from Mary's (The monster) movements, the setting, the color grading, the music, the TENSION! It all pays off so well!

Now, I have to agree that some of the actors and actresses could have put in a little more effort. I mean, Gerry and Alice play their parts pretty well, and a lot of the others are fairly good, but certain characters, like the paraplegic boy, kind of irked me in how phoned-in they sounded.

Another thing that bothered me is that some scenes felt like they cut too quickly. I was fully invested in a lot of the movie, but some moments left me thinking "Wait, that's it??"

Yeah, this movie isn't gonna be for everyone. For some, it'll be a pretty good popcorn horror flick. Others, just another half-assed cash-grab filled with cheap jumpscares

For me, though, this movie is AWESOME. It's dark, (For a PG-13 rating, I might add) suspenseful, scary, and, most of all, I REFUSE TO WATCH IT AGAIN.

Now I'm gonna go to bed...I hope Mary doesn't get me in my sleep ;-; FUCK YOU, MOVIE!!