Review by cjstanford-65097

This is not a horror movie - under any definition of horror. It's a supernatural thriller and drama, the sequencing is ideal keeping the viewer consistently wanting see what's next. Virtually all aspects of quality filmmaking are here, great production quality, sets and scenery, acting and story. There's the surface plot which starts out with two unrelated and mysterious events. As the characters develop, the plot continues to entertain which which alone carries the movie. And there's is a deeper plot which rises to the surface easily- it doesn't lt require "interpretation." Amazon Prime has the film under the title, "The Devil Within," providing the viewer toward a preconception about the plot. It's misleading title and not the main point. But there is a faction of characters in the film and perhaps among the audience who would believe it's appropriate. The movie is about the conflict between two types of religious/spiritual beliefs. The focal point separating and joining these two factions is a 15 year old girl who's been missing and shows up injured and unconscious. She appears to have been touched by God. The movie's drama is a nonstop revelation of how these two groups see and respond to the teen.. One faction is a diverse group including Catholic leadership and priests, Native Americans Soo ritual leaders, a local wise woman deemed to be psychic and the teen's mother who collectively are open minded, spiritual and accepting of human errors . The other faction are those who rigidly stick to prescribed religious dogma, and blindly follow their Reverend Wolf wherever he leads them and are quick to judge and condemn others. The filmmakers aren't subtle about these differences since the charismatic Reverend is overtly power hungry, greedy and evangelical. This group though is very vocal and appears to represent the majority. It behaves like a mob. Initially the Reverend wants nothing more than to have the teen join him foreseeing the millions of people and dollars that will gravitate to his church. And they pour unrestrained adoration over the girl until she speaks about her actions for which she feels regretful. This revelation and the actions that result become the climatic point. I thought I knew how it was going to end at that point- it was so "obvious," I stopped watching. Then curiosity kicked in: I finished it and learned that I didn't know squat about the end, which exceeded my expectations.