Les Dossiers Secrets du Vatican

Greetings from Lithuania.

"The Vatican Tapes" (2015) is a very enjoyable "possession / exorcism" movie. While the plot is not really original, the ending kinda was original, really original. It has not bad mood for this kind of horror movie, and although it has clichés all around, the overall experience was positive.

Michael Peña is totally miscast in this movie, he is one of the most reliable "comic reliefs" in industry at the moment, so it is hard to take him seriously in priest robe with serious face, there were some scenes with him near the end when i just wanted to chuckle - not that he is a bad actor, he is solid one, but at this moment in his carrier this kind of movie is clearly not his strongest side. Djimon Hounsou is also a bit miscast, although this 2 times Oscar nominee is much more believable in this role. Others were OK, nothing special. Directing was also OK, and i kinda liked cinematography and editing, they create this feeling of uncertainty.

Overall, i kinda see why "The Vatican Tapes" has such a lot rating at IMDb (4.5 at the moment) - lots of recent horror movies about possession and exorcism are shoot in "found footage" style, but this one plays straight and its overall look is inconsistent, there are many close ups and shaky camera and some weird shoots, but as a whole i liked this style and as i have mentioned it creates this tension and feeling of uncertainty. Ending was also kinda original in my opinion. While this flick isn't the most original or best in its genre, it was a pretty descent one.

The Vatican has maintained tapes of possible satanic possessions over the years. Vicar Imani (Djimon Hounsou) shows Cardinal Bruun (Peter Andersson) the case of Angela Holmes (Olivia Taylor Dudley). Two months earlier, her boyfriend Pete Smith (John Patrick Amedori) throws her a surprise birthday party with her father (Dougray Scott) attending. She cuts herself with the cake knife and reluctantly goes to the hospital. Strange things start to happen including her unquenchable thirst. She is hospitalized. There's an incident and the police is called in but Father Lozano (Michael Peña) sees the supernatural. Angela is put into a group home under the supervision of psychiatrist Dr. Richards (Kathleen Robertson).

It's a horror without scares. It's plodding. It has no style and no pace. It has worthwhile actors but not all of them stick around. It should have Father Lozano as the protagonist since he's the most natural point of view. Angela could work if it goes more into the demon world. The story is flat and unoriginal. It's on the slow boil and stays there. It's security camera footage and slow moving plot. There is some attempt at atmosphere. The exorcism doesn't have pea soup but it does have CGI fire. This was released theatrically but it's more fitting as one of the countless VOD offerings.

It's not really about exorcism, though it is about possession. And I have to admit, that I am surprised by the low rating here on IMDb. It's very well crafted, has an array of good actors in it and the script is solid. While I would agree that it doesn't reach the heights of some of the best horror movies out there, this is certainly a very good movie.

The acting is strong, the story holds up and the ending works too. Yes some characters react strange to our main character, but overall it's not the worst behavior in horror movies (or in the clichés we are used to). I like the mentality of the movie and the director seems to know his stuff. As does the cinematographer (both plus leading actress are on an interesting audio commentary on the disc) too. I was pleasantly surprised by this and maybe you will be too

I'm sure most horror fans with an interest in religion/exorcism based films will find something to enjoy here.

Sure it's nothing new, but it's well acted and stylishly executed in terms of cinematography.

There's not really any wasted time on screen, and it rattles along at a good pace.

So many horror films these days have a cheap feel, this doesn't. It's not a classic like The Exorcist, or The Omen, but it's a heck of a lot better than most being made nowadays.

Here we go again with the negative reviewers. I wonder what's wrong with those people? You are not going to tell me that this is the worst horror movie you ever saw, because then you talk a lot of bull... Okay it's not the best movie about possession or exorcism but it sure ain't the worst one. You can not compare it with The Exorcist because that movie was one of the first one about that subject and for that time it had everyone on the tip of their chair. Linda Blair will probably remain the best actress as a possessed person but it doesn't mean that other actors can't play that role. I thought Olivia Taylor Dudley did a good job with her performance. Looking innocent and then pure evil, to me it all looked real, and that's what's it all about with movies like this one. I surely was entertained and I saw hundreds of worse horror movies then The Vatican Tapes. Don't believe the haters here because they don't know what they are talking about.