Sunday, September 15, 2019

Review: Tabernacle 101


Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2019
Images from the Internet


Tabernacle 101
Directed by Colm O’Murchu
International Film Base / Indie Rights
98 minutes, 2019

There is an increasing level of religious fanaticism in the world. No matter what the religion, the belief is that if one doesn’t believe what they do, they are considered Others (outsiders) who deserve at most death, at least to be kicked out of the country. The US, Canada, and most of the Middle East are all either run by hyper-religious characters or they are in the serious running. And that is scary as fuck to me, as someone who does not hold religion in any realistic regard.

David Hov
That disbelief is what drives our main protagonist, Frank (David Hov). He and his pal / cameraman Clint (Leon Kowalski) run an atheist vlog debunking psychics, ghosts, and yes, God. This includes the wonderfully angular-toned Meredith (Mikaela Franco), whose look seems to be based on Diamanda Galas, and displays some real knowledge, but she has a warning for our hero about the following: Frank’s scientist girlfriend and co-atheist vlogger, Sarah (the lovely Elly Clapin), is experimenting on ending death. Of course, Frank wants to experience the process to prove there is no God, and Meredith cautions him to ixnay to the xperimentnay. Sarah also puts the kibosh on it. But, as in real life, men just don’t listen to women who are wiser than them.

So of course, it’s Halloween night that the reluctant Sarah puts Frank through the Flatliners (1990) type of experiment in front of the vlog camera and crew during a live broadcast. You know it’s not going to end well in the long run obviously, or there would be no film. When Frank is in the astral plane, it starts a competition for his – well, let’s say soul – between the light and the dark forces that will have worldwide implications. And that’s as far as the story as I’m willing to tell.

Mikaela Franco
There is a nice strong plot at the base of the events with some weirdness and Harry Potter type stuff floating about it, obviously wanting this to be a franchise, or possibly a television series. It definitely has its moments of darkness, but the upbeat electronic music and positive mysticism that seems to start out with the healing powers of Resurrection (1980) and goes off into the X-Men level of strengths, such as telekinesis, projection, and others.

Despite butting heads, you know Frank and Meredith are going to join forces (figured that out about 20 seconds into their first meeting) to fight the – err – forces of evil, but the big question is (and I will not answer it, you’ll have to see it) will they succeed? Meredith, we learn, has a bit more up her sleeve than we know at the onset when they are on opposite sides. But even as allies, try to get the guy to listen to a woman when she gives him warnings. Toxic masculinity at it’s finest.

Elly Clapin
What raises questions to me is what side of the story the writer falls on; in other words, is this a pro-Christian/religious take, or just a cinematic telling of the possibilities of the supernatural? There are some slight indications of the former, such as shadows that produce crosses, be it a streetlight, or my favorite is when Clint’s shadow intersects a horizontal line, producing said cross at his introduction to the story.

The category I would describe this film would be Dark Fantasy, which tends to be a bit black and white as far as good and evil goes. Either you are or you ain’t, though switching from one to the other is a viable choice (think Anakin Skywalker becoming Darth Vader); there’s just no gray area in between.

This works both for and against the storyline here. On the positive, it’s easier to like the characters that dwell in the light (especially with that inspirational synth music behind them), as there are few conflicts other than those working on Frank. The other side is a bit of predictability which is inevitable. While I pretty much guessed the outcome, the ride was interesting, especially with some nice double-crosses along the way.

A demon
One of the aspects I really liked about this particular story is the updating of the powers to include modern technology, especially computers and cell phones, as the transmission of controls. These are indeed the modern magic wands that transform, with coding being the updated version of spells. With every technology, as social theorist Neil Postman stated in 1993, we have a Faustian Bargain with our electronic equipment, each containing both the good and equally bad (or, as John Culkin said in 1967, “We shape our tools and, thereafter, our tools shape us”).

Let’s call this a thriller, because I would not necessarily call this “horror” despite the presence of demons and beings of light/goodness; as I said this is a darker version of a lot of the shows you may see on cable. There’s no blood other than a couple of cuts here and there, and most of the tension relies more on the story than the visuals, which are often quite stunning thanks to some nice camerawork. Let me add that the Aussie countryside mixed with camera drones gives us a beautiful view. But even beyond that, the film is shot well, and the editing is nicely done.

As for the acting, there is a bit of ham boning here and there, and straight out of “The Manny,” it seems like scenes were produced for Hov to be shirtless and show off his pecs, but the end result is a film that a fan of sorcery can watch without having to cover their eyes to avoid seeing some body bits flinging around with red internal gravy shooting out.

While the story can get a bit convoluted at times, it’s mostly a straightforward tale of the clash of good and evil, and it can be family-friendly depending on the clan, of course.



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