Ritual de Sangue

You would think that with the mob, the Catholic church, machine guns, hookers, hit men (and women), full-frontal nudity, screaming inside a church, the lead actress crying that "I'm a whore!", a stuttering priest and a uniformly attractive cast that there'd be a reason to get excited about this thing. Alas, you'll only be disappointed unless, like me, you want to see it because you've heard only bad.

Although it's shot in a made-for-TV style, there a couple of interesting camera shots (set in Mexico) and even a moment or two where there's promise of the story kicking in. Unfortunately, after the first ten minutes or so it's too late to recover.

Poorly written, poorly acted, poorly conceived. If it had been just a little worse, it could actually be good. Otherwise, you can find a better way to spend a couple hours of your life.

This film does show Berenger's truly broad range as an actor. It is one of those movies' that stick with you and kind of "haunt" you, in the very good way of being truly memorable, ultra-sexy and different! Bellasario's genius is well known now, but was truly evident in this early work of his.

50 Shades of Gray has nothing on the raw sexuality displayed so beautifully by Tom Berenger. My wonderful husband of 30 years has always known that even though Berenger is 16 years my senior, I would have an affair with him in a heart-beat. This film shows exactly why!

The ending of this movie leaves you breathless and yearning for more.

Despite every awful review this movie has received -including Roger Ebert ominous one as "the worst movie of 1988"- I loved it when it was first released and I still enjoy it.The plot may be faulty, but the atmosphere is great and the music by Bruce Broughton is -as expected-very good.For me -and many of my(according to what Mr.Ebert could think on this subject) "tasteless" friends, it still remains a cult film to be enjoyed again once in a while. The naivete of Michael (Tom Berenger) the priest has credibility in terms of his position in his family. The "finale" with his last phrase and the entrance of his sister Zena (Anne Twomey)and the very last scene at the car with her are simply terrific and impossible to forget no mater how many years have passed.

Every New York film cannot be a lasting classic. This having been said, Last Rites has been wrongly berated from the outset for having a "corny" and/or predictable plot line. Whether you consider it a church film with mafia overtones or a mafia film with church overtones, Berenger's priest shows subtle vulnerability that escalates to overwhelming vulnerability and you have to be curious as to where it will end. Isn't this the essence of the entertainment -- to hold interest? The plot progression was thoughtful -- and even clever -- enough to catch me off guard enough to retain my curiosity level. Although a true veteran, I could not foresee the ending. Can't some films be for fun? This is one to enjoy: It's a "buddy" movie with a twist.

This film has a few things going for it and not much else. It does have an icy female villain well played by one Anne Twomey, who is now known only for her small part as the NBC exec who put the kibosh on Jerry's sitcom pilot on Seinfeld. It has the sexiness of Tom Berenger and Daphne Zuniga, but doesn't seem to know what to do with them. And it has brief full-frontal male nudity by an unknown actor at the beginning, worth a look alone since it happens so rarely in American films.

That's it. The rest is not good, but it may be fun to watch just to see how convoluted it gets. Plus you keep thinking the main actors are going to bare all, but they never really do. (Zuniga gets some rear shots, but is pretty skillful at arm-placement when facing the camera. If you wanna see more of Berenger, get At Play in the Fields of the Lord instead.) Sorry to keep dwelling on the nudity, but this is not a film you watch for the plot.

Roger Ebert named this as the worst film of 1988 six weeks before the year was up. I don't think it's that bad, but it tests your patience. Funny, he ran into Zuniga at Sundance about 13 years later and they exchanged pleasantries. Apparently he was kinder to her in other reviews. She has deserved better, and in fact could be having a Helen Hunt kinda career if she hadn't been cast in films like this. (Being on Melrose Place probably seemed like a good idea at the time, but not in retrospect.)

You can decide for yourself if this film is "so bad it's good" or just bad. Perhaps it might have been a great cheap Cinemax "erotic thriller" with a controversial priest angle, but at face value it's lame, with a lousy written tough-guy priest character that rings false all the way through it. If you want to see a story about a morally compromised priest, see Linus Roache in the excellent PRIEST, not this.

To sum up, I was curious about this film, and I'm glad I watched it, but I probably would not watch it again. (Did I just qualify that with a 'probably'?)