Movie Review: THE CRUCIFIXION (2017) - Nightmarish Conjurings

I’ve always had this…thing with possession movies. While I have found the premise silly, I have always loved the flourish and frills of how Catholicism handled the appearance of demons. It‘s always quite the event with lots of accessories. When I heard about the movie THE CRUCIFIXION I was like, “Yeah, why the hell not.”

When reporter Nicole hears of a priest and three nuns that have been arrested in the murder of a young woman during a supposed botched exorcism, she begs her editor to let her go and cover the story. She travels either to Eastern Europe or back in time because the setting is very on and off. Sure Hotel Bella, the village doesn’t have cars or modern clothing but you have Wifi…priorities.

Sophie Cookson leads as Nicole and with her first line of dialogue, it sounded like she did not want to be there. Her acting was stiff and emotionless. Every single supporting actor outshined her by a mile. It all makes me think she got the part for one reason. Spoiler alert…..this girl rocked it as possessed. Is it really a spoiler when we all see where this is going? The only time when she showed emotion in her face was when a being from hell was inside of her.

At times it made it frustrating to watch. Aside from that, 90% of the movie centered on the murder/accidental blessing to death and tiptoed around the demon attacking Nicole until the literal last 5 minutes of the movie. Then Father Anton played by Corneliu Ulici (who had been helping(?) Nicole while she was in town) did what a veteran priest and three nuns couldn’t accomplish. It was simultaneously slow and fast if that’s even possible.

And the possession of Sister Marinescu was by transfer. She basically got too close to a priest and caught a cold from hell. Maybe I am just picky. I know transference is a common way for demons to possess a new person but combined with all this movie’s other misgivings, it seems very anti-cathartic.

If it sounds like I have nothing but negative things to say that’s not true. The scenery was stunning and the support acting was wonderful. While the lackluster story and sleepy lead slowed things down, it still made for a moderately entertaining watch. While it doesn’t hold a candle to movies like The Exorcist, they tried to make up for it in the supporting cast and environment. While it doesn’t have any rewatch value to speak of, if you’re bored on an October eve, this could do the trick.

THE CRUCIFIXION arrives in select theaters and On Demand October 6th from Lionsgate