The Ungodly

Wow!!! This is what Indie films should be. I didn't know what to expect going in but was totally on the edge of my seat the whole way through! It was sort of disturbing but in a very real, can't look away, can't wait for what will happen next sense. The two main characters, Mickey (Wes Bentley) and James Lemac (newcomer Mark Borkowski) are locked in a psychological cat and mouse as Mickey, a documentary filmmaker, hatches a crazy plan to blackmail and film James, a serial killer, for just a few days and then turn him into the police. One of the coolest things is that we don't really see the police in this film. We know they must be out there searching but we stay with the two main characters and just keep delving deeper and deeper into their psychology, morality and obsession. Every time you think you get to breathe, the air gets sucked right back out of you and there's a new crazy plot twist. The acting was really subtle (with Borkowski capable of erupting at a moment's notice) and the dark, edgy feel to the cinematography/directing made it really stand out as a risk-taking, no holds barred independent film. One particular murder scene was one of the most emotionally disturbing and visceral 5 minutes I've watched in a long time...wouldn't be surprised if this was a love/hate film for people because it gets under your skin and takes so many chances but I'm firmly on the side of loving it! It was clear the filmmakers wanted to be relentless with their audience so be prepared...

Good serial killer flick.

Production values were not stellar, but it might have been the director's aim to go "real" looking.

Both male leads were good. The beginning was somewhat slow and you have to suspend some reality to imagine that a serial killer would just sit there and have a conversation.

What keeps the movie going is the viewer's desire to see who's going to turn on the other first. There are several plot twists which were interesting.

Ending - I liked.

If you are looking for an above average horror movie take a peek.

Now which movie-lover doesn't love the following: You walk into a theater having absolutely no expectations whatsoever concerning the film you're about to watch. Then you walk out, approximately 90 minutes later, deeply impressed about what you've just seen on the big screen. Shamefully, I have to admit that my case was even a bit worse (and therefore the experience was even a bit better): I already had some expectations walking into that theater, and they weren't very optimistic. I assumed a film with a premise like THE UNGODLY could be either very good or it would just suck big-time. Nothing in-between. Just to be on the safe side, I was betting on the latter. Never was I so foolishly wrong. THE UNGODLY can easily be considered as one of the best movies about a serial killer to come out over the last 20 years (or even longer, if you take in consideration excellent movies like DERANGED and HENRY: A PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER).

Actor Wes Bentley (the teenager with the cam-corder in American BEAUTY) is allowed to play with a bigger camera this time. He portrays Mickey Gravitski, a struggling filmmaker with no job and a severe alcohol & drug addiction. One night, he coincidentally succeeds in recording a murder committed by a notorious serial killer. However, it turns out that it wasn't all that of a coincidence that Mickey was at the right place at the right time the night of the murder. Mickey gets in touch with serial killer James Lemac and uses his footage to blackmail him. He wants Lemac to be the subject of his documentary.

Being from Belgium myself (and after having read the synopsis) I couldn't help but thinking about our own Belgian little movie (our national cinematographic pride & joy, if you will) with the same subject matter released in 1992: C'EST ARRIVÉ PRÈS DE CHEZ VOUS (AKA MAN BITES DOG). And that was also the reason for my distrust: A movie with the same shaky documentary-style camera, without the outrageous black humor but with lame semi-philosophical twaddle instead? Wrong! Director Thomas Dunn indeed keeps the camera close to the actors' skin and the cinematography is often dark, gritty and depressing. But it always feels like a real film. The two most stellar elements of THE UNGODLY are the two leading actors and the plot. I don't know if Wes Bentley also might have any hidden comedian talents, but he sure can put down very believable, serious characters with rough edges. The young man simply looks tormented throughout the whole movie. But the most positive surprise definitely was newcomer writer/actor Mark Borkowski. He's not even a very young guy anymore, so where has he been all of his life? The way he shuffles around on screen, his (figuratively) scarred character-face, his sudden violent outbursts and especially his Brooklyn accent made me think a lot about Harvey Keitel. And I'm even convinced our dear Harvey couldn't have portrayed James Lemac in a better fashion.

And then I also mentioned the plot, right? Well, instead of just registering Lemac's deeds & commentary and following him with a camera (much like the aforementioned MAN BITES DOG and HENRY did), THE UNGODLY manages to tell an intriguing story that even takes a few curves into the unexpected. The psychological cat & mouse power-plays between Mickey and James (who's blackmailing who actually?) are finger-licking good. And then there's the ultimate cliché that every killer somehow has to be traumatized by a tyrannical mother during his child-years. Well this movie actually does something with that concept. I was grinning and shocked at the same time when that subplot unfolded on the screen.

It all adds up to THE UNGODLY being one of the most pleasant theatrical surprises I've encountered in a long time. I'll try to temper my enthusiasm and keep myself from rating it a 10/10 yet. But to me THE UNGODLY already earned its place in my personal "Serial Killer Hall Of Fame". And now please let the godless keep on killing... It produces great cinema!

on this one. If Atonement can be even made. If No Country For Old Men can win awards, than this was a great movie. Drop that and this movie was good. I wouldn't recommend heading to a theatre for something like this but then I wouldn't recommend even watching the former two movies. I would encourage a rental of this one. I was more than surprised that the acting was so solid. I can't quite say what it was about this one but it had an independent body while delivering a higher budget soul. For those that have written reviews instead of adding comments here, thanks, but please do suspend belief when doing so; you're watching fiction. Not all fiction meets all film school 101 criteria (in fact, for your type of people, do rent Dead Poets Society and pay attention to what Robin William's character teaches then come back and re-write your reviews). For the rest of you pondering watching this one, again, this didn't meet the 101 but it was entertaining. And I generally detest anything low budget _and_ anything with knives a'slashing away.

Unlike the other posters so far, I'm not falling over in my seat at how amazing and awesome this movie was -- because it wasn't. Don't be fooled by the fanboy stylings of earlier posts, this is not the latest "Henry." To its credit, it wants to be a movie that good, but it falls short on a variety of levels. The acting is pretty good, but there are no star turns here, except perhaps for the always under-appreciated Beth Grant, in a small role at the end. The story is so-so, but it is filled with logical holes and strains credulity many times.

But the biggest problem for me was depth. The movie wants to be weighing in on the way in which the filmmaker ends up behaving like the killer, but the plot doesn't slow down long enough to really explore it. It just keeps plowing ahead into new unlikely turn after turn, with no time left for a real reckoning for anyone.

At the end, I'm not sorry I watched it, but it wasn't all that great.