{Movie Review} Consecration

I’ll be upfront. I’m not the biggest fan of religious horror. There’s The Exorcist, The Omen, and then countless rip-offs that still get produced. Going into Consecration, I was a little skeptical. It has creepy nuns, the faith versus skepticism debate, and other motifs and images we’ve seen before. The first act plays like a demonic possession movie meets murder mystery. However, the second half leads to surprising and unexpected places. That old tagline from Hellraiser, “Demons to some. Angels to others,” really applies here. No, there aren’t Cenobites. Instead, the film explores the demonic and the divine in a compelling fashion, wrapped in the premise that a medical professional may be a fallen angel.

Jena Malone stars as Grace, a young eye doctor. She’s summoned to Mount Savior Convent in Scotland and learns that her brother, a priest, apparently committed suicide by jumping off a rock ledge. At least that’s what Mother Superior (Janet Suzman) and Father Romero (Danny Huston) tell her. Mother Superior goes so far to say that the convent is besieged by a demonic force, hence the suicide. Grace, ever the skeptic, isn’t convinced. She simply doesn’t believe her brother would do such a thing, and there’s not sufficient evidence pointing towards suicide. Watching Grace and Mother Superior go toe to toe intellectually is the film’s first highlight. Sure, we’ve seen this debate before, but Malone and Suzman are captivating when on screen together.

The first half is light on scares and instead plays out like an increasingly interesting murder mystery. Yet, it never drags. For one, just as the film opens, Mother Superior pulls a gun on Grace for no apparent reason. It won’t make sense until much later in the film. Meanwhile, Rob Hart and Shaun Mone’s arresting cinematography includes shots of the choppy sea and green landscape. This is contrasted with the white habits of the nuns, who seemingly always appear in the background. It’s an eerie juxtaposition of color and scenery. You quickly sense that these nuns have something to hide.

The longer Grace stays at the convent, the more she has unexplained visions. When her health worsens, the nuns keep her in the convent, even dressing her in all white, to her dismay and protest. Are they trying to convert her? Trap her? It’s not quite clear, at least not until the halfway point. And that’s when the film gets really interesting.

Grace has a role to play in all of this, and eventually, we learn that Father Romero and Mother Superior believe that she’s a demonic force. However, there’s also the possibility that she’s an angel able to perform miracles. The film eventually explores heresy, evil, and the divine. This feature warrants a rewatch with plenty to unpack.

The second half also ramps up the kills, and without spoiling anything, let’s just say that Grace starts to come into her own. After a slow churning first half, watching her realize her full potential and power elevates the film. Further, the leads all give solid performances, especially Malone. As Grace, she plays off of the cold and biting Mother Superior quite well. Suzman gives weight to the performance, that’s also not without its dark humor. It’s a strong cast and quite an effective setting.

Director Christopher Smith is no stranger to genre films. He has another solid feature under his belt, with a strong script that he penned with Laurie Cook. Consecration isn’t your typical religious horror movie. It defies expectations and elevates itself with harrowing sequences and philosophical underpinnings. Malone is confident in the lead, playing a skeptic who very well may have supernatural powers. Angel? Demon? You decide.

Consecration hits theaters on February 10 and will release on Shudder at a later date.