Horror fans have been conditioned to believe seeing nuns in scary movies automatically means bad things are coming. Whether used as dark foreshadowing, plot set up, slowly walking in the background to full in your face demonic screaming. With few exceptions, going back to the early ‘80s Silent Night Santa or current supernatural conjuring’s , nuns aren’t fun, with the rare exception of our holy mother of Dream Warriors.
However, this unwritten rule is broken in David S. Hogan’s The Parish, though Sister Beatrice (Gin Hammond) is seen in the background and up close whispering to characters. The air of menace and potential fear is there but that’s part of what gives the film its strength and appeal. The expectation of a jump scare, or delayed jolt is there but not always delivered.
In an era where CGI, loud jump scares and grisly gore have saturated the market, the art of the effective spooky ghost story has been all but forgotten.
The Parish takes advantage of lighting, mood and atmosphere telling its story of mystery and long kept locked away secrets while characters try and make sense out of what they see and hear. Part The Sixth Sense, part Village of the Damned with the daughter acting creepy after being exposed to the supernatural forces in the house. Though she does draw scary, violent pictures of what she sees around her… Some tropes never change.
Angela DiMarco plays Liz Charles, a grieving widow struggling to cope with the loss of her deployed husband, knocking back plenty of liquid courage to compensate. DiMarco captures the grief and sorrow well, struggling with her subconscious visions and real life situations.
Her daughter Audrey (Sanae Loutsis) looks ready to lead a new Village of the Damned or join ranks in The Addams Family. plays the perfect creepy, withdrawn kid, who enjoys the company of the other worldly without knowing it.
They arrive in a quiet new town trying to move on when weird events happen that the locals don’t want to talk about or acknowledge.
While the boiler room scene doesn’t have the shriek of metal, it gives off a subtle retro vibe.
Audiences have been conditioned to expect something to happen at targeted times but sometimes a good ole fashion ghost story using basic elements of tension and suspense is good enough to tell an effective story.
One of the most effective and well-lit scenes occurs in the church facing the windows with Father Felix (Bill Oberst Jr.) giving guidance to Charles’ fragile state of mind.
The Parish is part throwback, fitting into the ‘80s or before, when taken for granted modern effects didn’t exist. If you flashback to the old timer sitting on the beach in front of the fire about to tell his final tale from The Fog, The Parish could’ve been another scary tale to tell after the witching hour.
On DVD and Digital March 16.
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Bill Oberst Jr.
Mike, thanks for reviewing the film, man. I appreciated your mention of that little quiet church scene – I thought the lighting in that scene was really nice. I’d like to do a whole movie in light like that! Thank you for giving indie art some exposure. – Bill
Mike Ritchie
Thank you Mr. Oberst, I also enjoyed your work in 3 From Hell and Death House as well.