Hallowed Ground

HALLOWED GROUND is a peculiar little movie. Good camera work. Decent actors. And dull as watching paint dry.

Somebody forgot that the first six letters in "thriller" are t-h-r-i-l-l. The object is to make people's pulses race, not to put the audience to sleep.

Elizabeth's car breaks down in a strange (and underpopulated) little town. She gets it to a garage, only to be told that the needed part can't be gotten until tomorrow. Stranded.

She goes to a diner and gets into a conversation with a tabloid reporter conveniently in town to do a story on strange events in the area many years ago. The reporter conveniently provides exposition establishing the main conflict that the story will cover.

And so we're treated to Elizabeth's adventures trying to escape a crazed cult. So we have a little CHILDREN OF THE CORN, a touch of THE Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE, and a dash of those movies Hammer Studios made where Christopher Lee's cult got outsmarted by Peter Cushing. For seasoning add a cute little girl. But no original ideas involved.

This would have been a great thirty minute episode of Tales from the Darkside. But stretching it to feature length was just cruel.

While decidedly overdone, and giving us an early taste of weak CGI that threatens our suspension of disbelief, the opening scene is mildly promising as a suggestion of what the narrative could be. The opening credits display a list of names that offer a world of welcome possibility, and I can't help but be mildly gleeful at finding out that composer extraordinaire Neil Acree lends his talents for this feature; even the first few themes we get to hear are quietly inspiring. Even with his involvement, though, it's very fair to enter 'Hallowed ground' with at best mixed expectations - after all, it was released direct-to-video, and had its grand premiere on... the Sci-Fi Channel.

Yet then, before 15 minutes have passed, we get an absolute treat: purposefully, abjectly over the top, and more than a little tongue-in-cheek comedic horror. The glassy-eyed stare townspeople give protagonist Liz is delightfully hammy, while Hudson Leick gives reporter Sarah the same intense, wild energy she brought to villain Callisto in 'Xena: Warrior princess' - while gushing a veritable flood of exposition within 5 minutes. Why, she even gets to deliver an outstanding pun, and inorganically speak the film's title aloud, only a few minutes later! Nick Chinlund happily chews scenery in what we see of town founder Jonas Hathaway, while one small embellishment after another greets our vision. 'Hallowed ground' actively, willfully declines any sense of subtlety, and with that it becomes a wonderful, jolly good time very quickly.

The plot is kind of light, and one or two details are perhaps not really explained, but it's plentifully sufficient in light of what this movie wants to be. Jaimie Alexander, playing it straight in the lead role, offers a nice contrast of some nuance and range relative to the deliberate bombast we get otherwise. The unbothered fun includes the appearance of Ethan Phillips, whose soft timbre is so out of place in a horror flick that it would be impossible to take 'Hallowed ground' totally seriously even if it wanted us to - I mean, just imagine if John Fiedler, long-time voice of Winnie the Pooh, appeared in a similar prominent role. Dialogue and scene writing bears a lot of familiar slasher notions, all but tropes - but they're done well such as they are. While the narrative includes ideas that could easily be played to earnest, terrifying ends - religious zealotry, a long-simmering conspiracy, coordinated movement against an innocent woman - here they are amplified to a degree that only amplifies the pomposity.

True, 'Hallowed ground' is a bit inconsistent. For all the consciously overcooked bluster that initially greets us, in the second half that aspect takes a backseat and it feels like writer-director David Benullo was aiming for more straightforward horror thrills. Then, too, we get a small scene imparting the protagonist's backstory, and it's an intended emotional beat that here just seems out of place. The computer-generated special effects are an eyesore - glimpsed in the opening scene, and regrettably far more prevalent at the climax. An early passing line of throwaway dialogue includes an utterly unnecessary transphobic slur. And, while part of a cohesive, coherent narrative, a content warning should be mentioned for themes of sexual assault.

Still, where the narrative writing falters, rather than sloppiness I think this is more a reflection of the concept just not entirely working as intended. Because by and large, I think this is actually fairly well done. There's just enough personality to most characters so they don't feel entirely flat and dull; there's some intelligence in the dialogue, and the scenario; the scene writing seems fairly tight. A bit rough at the start, overall I think Keith Duggan's cinematography is suitably rich and crisp. Blood and gore looks fine. And while Benullo's list of credits doesn't particularly bat an eye, he demonstrates some capability in arranging some nice shots. From a technical standpoint, and in the broad strokes of the writing, I don't see any major issues with this movie.

The chief fault as I see it is simply that 'Hallowed ground' doesn't have one consistent tone. It's hilarious at the outset, catching us off guard, before easing into a more serious air of horror. It's possible that transition was intentional, but either way, the shift is noticeable and comes across as a tad incongruent; to have stuck with one mood throughout would have strengthened the whole. Regardless, I began watching with very low expectations, and was surprised at how enjoyable the picture turned out to be. It's hardly essential - whatever flavor of horror film you're looking for, there are better examples, and I can only offer a soft recommendation. When all is said and done, though, I found this duly entertaining, and I'm reasonably sure that, if nothing else is true, was the intent all along. So, even if imperfect, I'd call this a success.

Hallowed Ground was neither a good or great movie. In my eyes, I'd say it was mediocre. I did like the stylish camera work, there are some haunting moments in the score, the acting is decent considering what they had to work with and there are a few good ideas in the mix. On the other hand, while not bottom-of-the-barrel awful, the effects do still have a rather cheap look to them, the scarecrow is alright but not as menacing as he should be as a result. The characters are clichéd and not really that engaging and the script has a rather stilted nature about it, but the biggest let down was the story, which promised much but was too derivative and dull in alternative to thrilling and atmospheric. All in all, not good and disappointing but not as bad as some have made out. 4/10 Bethany Cox

A mediocre "remote religious community with a stupid cult" horror, in the "Children of Corn" manner. I watched it because of Chloë Grace Moretz and Jaimie Alexander, it wasn't boring, but soon I won't have any idea that I watched it, let alone what it was about. Within the genre, it can pass with the weaker

6/10

I don't care for thrillers, however, this one was better than most I've been forced to watch. I saw it on Sci-Fi, and watched it from beginning to end.

That, in and of itself, speaks volumes about the film. I'm not one to watch films if I become bored or if I dislike it.

The highlight for me was a stupid bird flu joke, which, now, I cannot recall. It will drive me crazy all day. Care to help a gal? I enjoyed the film... was drawn into it and had the opportunity to leave half-way through it... but stayed til the end just because I was having a good time.

It was enjoyable. Not bad.