- Director: Michael Peterson
- Writer: Tim Cairo
- Stars: Mark O’Brien, Jacqueline Byers, Josh Cruddas
REVIEW
With Easter right around the corner, what better time for a new exorcism film? As can be said for any sub genre of horror, if you’ve seen one exorcism film, you’ve seen them all, right? Well, Shadow of God heard that complaint and said, “Hold my beer.”
Starring Mark O’Brien as Mason Harper, a priest who is hailed as an elite exorcist (what does that even mean?), he is also the son of a former religious cult leader. While performing an exorcism in Guadalajara, it becomes clear to Mason that something insidious is brewing in the metaphysical world. Upon returning to his small hometown, Mason and his childhood friend, Tanis, banter back and forth about religion, cults and whether or not his dad could, possibly, still be alive.
Directed by Michael Peterson (Knuckleball) and written by Tim Cairo (Lowlife), Shadow of God is an ambitious story that works very hard to tell a rather convoluted tale of good and evil, but ambition alone does not always produce one’s intended results. At many turns, the film feels like settling into an episode of Supernatural, but details like Mason’s bestie being named Tanis (the fictional herb in Rosemary’s Baby that allows the coven to control Rosemary), the backwoods cult controlling every facet of public service, the token cult followers who exist simply to propel the story along with their crazy shouting and, well, the CGI all dim any goodwill you may have had.
Mark O’Brien does an outstanding job as Mason, and quite frankly, his acting is the one thing saving this film. Better known to the horror crowd as the husband in Ready or Not and as Randall Tier in Hannibal, O’Brien elevates every scene he’s in. A character who, ultimately, has the biggest crisis of conscious possible when being forced to perform an exorcism on his own father, Mason could easily be lost in an over zealous portrayal of religious conflict, but O’Brien keeps him grounded and keeps the viewer invested in his personal storyline. As for the rest of the characters, they can all go to hell. Literally. There is just so much religious trauma being unpacked in Shadow of God and so little good acting and special effects to go around. Small budgets are never a problem, but utilizing the kind of “effects” that Peterson relies on in the film’s finale is criminal behavior and it is impossible to not be taken out of the movie if you’re even still in it at this point.
Pitting Lucifer against God is certainly nothing new, but Shadow Of God flounders in it’s own earnestness to the point of detriment. O’Brien puts in as much work as any elite exorcist could possibly be expected to, trying to carry this film on his back, but even Jesus Christ himself couldn’t have carried this amount of religious malarky and daddy issue navel gazing without needing those three days in the cave.
Shadow Of God is available on Shudder now.
Lisa Fremont
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