Martin, Brooklyn’s Finest (2009) - the screenplay is another of the film’s big evils. Originally scripted by Christopher Borrelli - who also co-wrote the story before it was reworked by Michael C. You see, we’re introduced to Angela through shots from her boyfriend’s phone, which the Vatican has somehow gotten a hold of - in any case, what does this early footage have to do with Angela’s possession? And why is it even in the Vatican’s hands? Furthermore, Neveldine’s usual stylistics - his extreme angles and whirling camerawork - scream desperation as opposed to innovation, the filmmaker trying to inject a smidgen of life into his wavering project. For starters, a lot of the found-footage stuff makes no sense, narratively speaking.
#THE VATICAN TAPES 2016 SERIES#
Presented through a series of faux Vatican recordings mixed with conventional third person filmmaking techniques, The Vatican Tapes is all over the shop. Alas, Neveldine, who’s jokingly been referred to as having ADD and widely known for whizzing about sets on rollerblades, plays it straight here, delivering a film that’s void of any creative energy or flair. to confront the beast that has ravaged Angela to the point of no return.įilmmaker Mark Neveldine has built a career for himself as one part of Neveldine/Taylor, the dudes responsible for the high-voltage Crank series (2006-09), with The Vatican Tapes marking the zany director’s first solo project. Enter Father Lozano (Michael Peña) - a former soldier-turned-priest - who takes Angela’s case to Vatican City, where it triggers the curiosity of Cardinal Bruun (Peter Andersson), who eventually travels to the U.S. The cut however, is only the beginning of a systematic possession with a wicked entity taking over Angela’s body, transforming her into a maleficent force with a sway over the weak. The pair joins forces over a common cause when Angela slices her finger on a knife and requires a trip to the hospital. The day is interrupted when Angela’s dad Roger (Dougray Scott) pops by for a surprise visit, the two men seemingly uneasy around one another. Cut to suburban California where we’re introduced to Angela Holmes (Olivia Taylor Dudley), a young lady who’s preparing to celebrate her birthday with beau Pete (John Patrick Amedori).
#THE VATICAN TAPES 2016 ARCHIVE#
The flick begins with a hodgepodge of extracts that detail the ‘supposed’ history of a secret Vatican archive that’s solely dedicated to documenting the long line of possessions and exorcisms that the Catholic Church have been covering up. With that said, it’s kinda ironic then to find out that the film’s opening montage - cut from archival footage that’s supposedly sourced from the titular library - along with its closing - which is mostly made up of news clips - are amongst it’s best moments, the rest playing out like an uninspired by-the-numbers exorcism account. It’s interesting to note that The Vatican Tapes actually started out as a found-footage project until the creative team (and the studio behind it) decided to veer more towards your customary narrative trajectory. The Vatican Tapes is the latest installment in the ever-growing exorcism sub-genre with director Mark Neveldine struggling to summon a chilling end-of-the-world yarn by mixing found-footage elements together with your standard Hollywood style structure.
Seriously, what is it with studios itching to release demonically infused cinema these days? Over the past few years we’ve seen the Eli Roth produced The Last Exorcism (2010), the controversial The Devil Inside (2012) and the Eric Bana starring Deliver Us From Evil (2014), each failing to set the box office alight with its evil aura whilst reiterating the fact that religion can be a scary thing.
To be quite blunt, the last thing the world needed was another offering where we’re subjected to seeing a young woman speak in a creaky voice and perform weird gymnastics while possessed by a demon that powerless priests can’t draw out. For 2,000 years the Vatican has recorded evidence of evil.