The Horror Show
The Vatican Tapes
by Mark Neveldine
It’s not the first - and certainly won’t be the last time - that unimaginative “The Exorcist” rip-offs try to approach the whole satanic possession sub-genre and differentiate from each other by, well, doing pretty much nothing ground-breaking. As originality seems to have hit rock bottom, the basic premise of such flicks is to impress mainstream audiences and extend their shelf-life as much as possible, so how did The Vatican Tapes do?
Starring Olivia Taylor Dudley in the role of Angela, The Vatican Tapes is not actually about any Vatican tapes or found-footage horror as the title might suggest. It’s about a 25-year-old woman’s demonic possession and her slow transformation into a dispiritingly generic satanic entity and ultimately the worst nightmare of mankind: the rise of the Antichrist.
It all starts in a simple and yet formulaic manner. Right after rushing to the hospital for stitches due to a bad finger cut, Angela gets attacked by a strange raven that bites her already hurt finger. What seems to be a normal infection is actually the beginning of a very exhausting trip to mayhem. Disorientation, dehydration, and exhaustion lead to a car crash that leaves Angela in a coma.
Neither her gruff father, Roger (Dougray Scott), nor her caring boyfriend, Pete (John Patrick Amedori), know how to help her. Neither do the doctors who give her up for dead only for her to miraculously come back to life. Not as Angela, though, but as something completely different; making her constantly struggling to convince us how evil she’s starting to become.
Father Lozano (Michael Peña) is the only person who seems to know how to help her, as he sees that her problem is not mental, but stems from her soul. With the assistance of a veteran Vatican cardinal (Peter Andersson) who knows how to kill demons (as he was also possessed as a kid) Lozano tries to perform a rather blunt, featureless, and flat exorcism. Even though the exorcism doesn’t lack the generic screeching voice and cracking bones, everyone involved - including Lozano - seems thoroughly bored and unimpressed.
Dudley’s performance is probably the only thing that holds this movie together, but even so, that’s barely enough. The concept is rather eerie and quite promising as it involves a few twists that other similar movies don’t, but the delivery is poor. Cinematography is not a friend and even worse than that, it deprived the movie of being more captivating.
Director Mark Neveldine has staged the proceedings with remarkably little tension and suspense, and most damagingly of all, he failed to deliver a thrilling exorcism, which is one of the main reasons why someone watches a horror movie such as this.
Lackluster and soulless at times, The Vatican Tapes is not the best choice within the demonic possession sub-genre, but as the ending hides a surprising twist, some might find it decent enough. In such cases, having low expectations is the key.
Maria Kriva, HMS
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