Behind the Cross

"Behind The Cross" is the first film from Finnish director Tomi Kerminen. The horror short is from an original script and concept. The story follows the downward spiral into depravity and madness of Father Michael. The priest is burdened with a dark past filled with ridicule. After years of seeking salvation from a horrible childhood Father Michael is unable to suppress the darkness inside him. He becomes the very embodiment of evil. He sets out on the path spiritual degradation and murder becoming a serial killer in the shadows of darkness and a man of cloth desperately clinging to the light. Which is were this short film picks up in the madness that is Father Michael's life.

"Behind The Cross" is a strange blend of symbolism and expressionism. It is truly a dark piece of avant-garde cinema that drives heavily from an experimental influence while enveloping the classic nature of horror. It is steeped in imagery and metaphor creating bizarre visual moments of a true psychotic with iconic symbols associated with more extreme images of a more modern style known as Dada, a sort of anti-art movement that creates expressions and emotional responses from such things deemed unacceptable by mainstream contemporaries. It is a style I am only vaguely aware of but have recently come to find very intriguing and thought provoking.

Tomi Kerminen has managed to step forward as an artist of film with his first film, heading into the right direction. A direction I hope he continues to explore and impress upon. I for one would like to see how far he is willing to go and to what extent he is willing to push his audience as far as what they consider art or horror or even entertainment. For me "Behind The Cross" could have gone far further and not be offensive or loose the edge of experimentalism. The film opens up so many possibilities as far as it's intent or representations. As I recently stated to Tomi about this film…" I am pretty sure that it was going to force me to push my limit of "What Is Acceptable" in my definition of Horror as an entertainment medium". The film gives impressions of religion as a sadistic corrupter of society's true spiritual and physical prosperity as a real representation of Horror. Plus there are moments it whispers a thought that the true evil is the Church and we are merely dutiful servants willingly sacrificing our children at it's alter.

This movie concerns a blasphemous, sacrilegious, serial killer priest, who embodies psychotic deterioration of the mind. The movie itself is an example of sustained horror. The movie is viscerally executed in a manner that is true to the Gothic macabre genre, with excellent use of color and light. There is nothing low budget about the execution of this movie, nor its narrative. I would describe this as ten times more horrific than the movie Hannibal and more intelligent than The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. As for those who love gore films of course this is for you. At this juncture I can say that yes there is plenty of gore in this film, but this film is a thinking persons film and it is an example of intelligent sustained horror. We are presented with the main character who embodies depravity and nefariousness. There is nothing stilted or lame about this. I mean you genuinely believe that this person has lost his faculties, morality, decency, and is the embodiment of the shadow, in moral worth he is literally lower the rat fecal matter that he gives his victims to eat. I have seen mainstream and non-mainstream horror films try, and I emphasize the word try to be this dark and try to have characters like the main character Behind The Cross but none I know really will frighten and disgust you in equal proportion as this. I can say honestly, objectively this film is so well executed that you will have no problems believing in the believable nature of this character, nor will you deny in any way that there is something artificial about this main characters unhinged mind being all that unhinged that would have you doubting it or have you pausing in your ability to suspend disbelief. I must say I felt I was almost there in terms of the dark tour this movie was taking us on. Nor, and this is something such films run the risk of courting, is this film in anyway over acted, this is well acted to the point where you can feel the vile abyss of moral destitution that the main character has fallen into. Tomi Kerminen plays the psycho as good as any psycho I have seen on celluloid. Predictably after showing this priests fallen nature where he no longer functions in a priestly manner, if that is he ever has, but, has been totally handed over to the evil one, we are provided a psychoanalytical scenario as to why this person is a sadistic, psychotic, blasphemous, serial killer, who has utterly no respect for the religion that he has chosen not only to follow but to be a minister in. For our main character has become a true Satanic character. But why does this person grow up to be a perverted abuser and killer of females and not of males?

I would describe this film as excellently executed, outrageously horrific, utterly believable, sadistic, cruel and absolutely worth watching. Horror fans will love it. We are given just enough time to really feel that this priest is definitely down the path to which there is no return. What did I love about the film? I loved the Macabre Media icon at the start it was red and reminded me of movies made about Edgar Allan Poes short stories. I loved the countdown from five to zero and how we are introduced to this film. The punk music at the start and at the end so fresh, so original, so much like we are not taking any crap from the mainstream, just delivering a punk horror film which allows space for this movie to properly express itself. We feel that with the use of this punk music that it brings us to the jaws of madness by the way you will find that priest somewhere firmly within them being devoured fully for our character firmly is not so much at the helm of evil but is definitely being steered by it. Who is this movie for? Open minded people that want to see what makes totally vile nut cases tick, who wish to understand how sacred and ancient scripture can be mishandled by psychotic lunatics and selfish people alike. This movie is a) an examination, very intimate examination of a perverted sadistic serial killer who is floridly psychotic. This movie is b) a depiction of how religion and its true meaning can be perverted even by those who administer it. c) this movie also demonstrates beyond doubt that Shakespeare was absolutely right to write in The Merchant of Venice that even the devil can quote scripture to suit his own purpose. The main character in this film is eloped with a delusional belief that he is serving Gods purpose. This is a-typical of the theodicy in schizophrenic thinking where the patient believes themselves to be at one with God or serving Gods purpose. As this movie reaches its end we learn that the character is occupying the false and delusional belief that he is serving the mission of God and that is an Angel of God issuing his vile on those who are the wrongdoers. But the things is, do we believe this or do we believe the more likely scenario that he has lost all thought for God and uses scripture just to justify his sick fantasies? Does this question prompt more questions than answers? Of course it does and why should it not, even philosophers, psychiatrists and top scholars have not figured out the intricacies of evil and the character makeup and the motives for inhumane and dark souls, so why should any piece of art have the burden of doing this work, of providing answers for why people become sick, inhumanly sick and depraved? Behind The Cross, dark, explicit, depraved, nightmare of a movie, if you love horror you should not miss this.

Behind the Cross is the debut movie from Finnish director Tomi Kerminen, and let me tell you something, its an incredibly frightening and depressing movie. It also has the accolade of actually making me jump. It has been a long while since any movie has managed to do that, and seeing as it was in the first 5 minutes of the film, it definitely impressed me. The movie tells the story of Father Michael, who is plunging into the depths of madness and depravity after years of ridicule and a horrible childhood. He becomes an embodiment of pure evil, and commits such things as murder and spiritual degradation while still clinging on to his priesthood.The symbolism in this movie is incredibly apparent from the get go, and the movie has an incredibly artistic feel about it. But please, don't let that put you off, as Behind the Cross is as dark a movie I have seen is such a long time. There are many moments in the movie where it shows visually the moments of a true psychotic, also using religious/iconic symbols as a contrast to the madness.I felt that it was making a point of showing Religion to be the real evil in our society, that it corrupts all who follow it beyond recognition. The movie is incredibly intelligent, thought provoking, and twisted, and it was shocking in every sense of the word. Awesome!!! Darkest regards......Dani.

BEHIND THE CROSS (2013) is an independent horror film from Finnish artist Tomi Kerminen. With its raw 70s art house snub film vibe you truly have to see it to respect it… that is if you can endure its very powerful and brutal imagery.

A dark and twisted tale that delves deep within the macabre mind of Father Michael, as he is swallowed up by the evil he is trying so hard to run away from. The film has an abstract sermon like narrative, blending religion and torture porn. Days after watching the film I'm still trying to put into words what I witnessed - It's almost like being a part of someone's painful nightmares as the film flashes across the screen... It is such an original piece of art. I want to personally thank Mr. Kerminen for sharing this with me… JohnnyVeins.com