The Parish

There are a lot of things in this world that can be scary. Some people are afraid of clowns, while some people are afraid of Jehova´s Witnesses ( i am one of them who are scared when i see Jehovas, i run as fast as i see them ). I am sure they are wonderful people, who are carrying axes and a chansaiw, that probably means they are just going working in a forest ( i did not see many trees though last time i saw them knocking our door, that´s a bit odd? ) There are very few things that actually scare me in real life, and for those who knows me personally knows what will really scare my pants off. And that is the 2004 music solo album Asshole, by Kiss member Gene Simmons. I will explain why this is one of the things that scare me most, and that is because this album have some of the worst songs i have ever heard. And i really mean that, this is an album that should be avoided at all cost. Just the idea that Gene Simmons made a cover of The Prodigy´s big hit Firestarter, probably gives you an idea of how bad it sounds. So if you plan to scare kids on Halloween this year, my best advice is to give everyone a copy of Gene Simmons solo album Asshole from 2004, and i guarantee they wont sleep for the last 3 years. Speaking of scary, who else thinks that nuns are really scary? I am pretty sure most of us do, and perhaps we should thank The Conjuring 2 for that, when we were introduced to the demonic nun figure, that would start of quite a lot of independent horror films with nuns included. I recently had a look at a list of nun horror films, and i noticed that there are a lot of titles that i have not seen. One independent horror film i did see, wich does include a killer nun, is a horror film called A Nun´s Curse. A surprisingly good low budget film from director Tommy Fairthcloth, and if you want to know more, check out my review of this film in this blog. All i can say is that you should check that film out on DVD. The distribution company Uncork´d Entertainment is known for releasing a lot of good independent horror films over the years, in many different genres. One of the films i have wanted to see since this spring, is a film called The Parish. An independent horror film that actually includes a nun, what could possibly go wrong with that combination? Is this one of the better independent horror films to pick out this summer, or is The Parish a film you don´t need to waist your precious time on?

Liz Charles ( Angela DiMarco ) lost her husband Jason Charles ( Ray Tagavilla ) in war. She have a young daughter Audrey Charles ( Sanae Loutsis ), and they both struggle with the loss of Jason. Liz make the decision to move to a smaller town with her daughter, to start a new life. But as Audrey begin her new school, something does not quite seem right, as if she have found a new friend, that not even the school knows about. And that´s not the only secret....

I am actually quite surprised over The Parish. This is a film i knew very little about, and i am glad i did not even see a trailer. This is a low budget independent film that is quite more serious than most films in this genre. You have the relationship between a mother and her young daughter, who both struggle with the loss of dad / husband. You also have the secrets that daughter Audrey ( played by wonderful young actress Sanae Loutsis ) carry with her, We have to talk about the acting from lead actress Angela DiMarco ( who i am excited to see in the new upcoming film The Rectory ). Considering that this is a film on a limited budget, her performance is actually better than what most actors are in films such as The Parish. And i am very pleased to see that she goes into her character, with such a serious performance. I would have to say that she gives one of the better performances i have seen, in similar films to this one. One interesting detail that is worth mentioning, is that Angela is also the executive producer of The Parish. Actor Bill Oberst Jr. ( who fans of the 2012 low budget film Abraham Lincoln Vs Zombies will recognize, where he played Abraham Lincoln ) plays the character Father Felix. Bill manage to portrait a character, that match very well with the story in The Parish. I also have to mention actress Gin Himmond as Sister Beatrice, who capture the look, and behavior of a creepy nun. The cinematography from Domenic Barbero looks great, and i have to say that Domenic does a really good job, especially capturing the bright colors in certain scenes. The horror scenes may not offer a lot of violence, but what this film does right is skip all the jump scares, and focus more on delivering old school horror instead. It is more about the atmopshere, and the mystery surrounding Sister Beatrice. The CGI effects may be a bit cheesy in certain scenes, but i understand that they had a limited budget to work on, so i can accept that. Director David S. Hogan ( who fans of the TV horror series Z Nation will recognize ) deliver a horror film that may be simple, but actually works thanks to the characters, and the story. Sometimes it is better to use simple methods to make a horror film work, and this is exactly what David does. The Parish is not groundbreaking in any way, but if you love nuns in horror films, this could be a good choice for you this summer. After all, who does not want a demonic nun to make your summer more fun? It sure sounds like a great combination to me.

Rating: DDD