Cast: Christina Ricci, Iaon Gruffudd, Stephen Dillane, Kerry Fox

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Rated: R

reviewed by Charity Bishop

Horror movies are not really my thing but now and again I enjoy watching one that promises more supernatural frights than gruesome beheadings. The Gathering is a unique experience because it revolves around a religious system of beliefs that seem almost plausible -- certainly more so than most films in this genre. While it does have its faults, I was surprised with the twist ending and found its moral conclusions fascinating.

Two teenagers have stumbled onto something extraordinary. Beneath a local mound overlooking a small village in the north of England is a buried church, complete with carved stone figures and ominous artwork. Intending to look out over the gorgeous countryside beneath, the two climbed to the top of the mound -- and fell through. The boy died on impact, the girl a few hours later. A specialist in identifying ancient stonework has been called into investigate. A skeptic when it comes to religion but well-known and liked in the local dioceses, Simon (Dillane) is intrigued by the figures on the walls of the church. Strangely, the crucifixion is facing the back wall instead of outward toward the audience, and carved behind it are various figures. It is unnerving and strange things begin to transpire in town. His wife Marion (Fox) is driving her stepson home from school one afternoon, and out of nowhere stumbles a young woman.

After being hit by the car, Cassie (Ricci) is taken to a local hospital and revealed to have no injuries except for a case of amnesia -- she cannot remember anything of her past or present and has no remembrance of her reason for being in the north. Rather than put her out on the street, Marion invites her to stay and Cassie immediately forms a bond with young Michael (Harry Forrester), who has not spoken a word since his mother's death. But in spite of the doctors assuring her nothing is wrong, Cassie knows something to the alternative -- she constantly is experiencing gruesome visions of death and destruction. The presence of a sinister dog on the grounds of the estate and concerns over a local man's interest in the Kirkman children has her spooked, so she turns to a local boy, Dan (Gruffudd) for help in discerning what is happening before it is too late. Obviously, the theology involved here is very complicated but not as implausible as you might think. Without revealing too much, a great deal of the story revolves around an ancient legend about a "gathering" of people who came to watch the Crucifixion. Because they were drawn there out of a base desire to watch Christ suffer, rather than in compassion or mourning, they are cursed to walk the earth for all eternity and be forced to watch the suffering of others.

Throughout, I could not discern where this movie would lead, what its motivations were, or how it would end -- and that made it exciting for me. It is not your typical horror film in the sense that people are not being slaughtered left and right (at least, until the end) but the suspense is intense and made even more creepy by the fact that you don't know whether the gathering is responsible for some of the evil actions in town or merely a malevolent force standing in observation. Many have complained that the movie is campy and not worth their time, but I enjoyed it. I found it emotionally interesting and certainly worth a good fright or two. Hollywood has a fascination with supernatural beings and this time have come up with a decent plot, although at times some of it seems rather implausible. The acting is quite good and it was cleaner than I anticipated. Cassie does wear some very revealing tops, on occasion around Simon, which is a little creepy. Unfortunately, there are about a dozen abuses of Jesus' name and an equal number of f-words. It is mentioned that children were abused by a local priest -- but unclear whether it was sexual abuse or physical abuse.

Violence is not prevalent in the first half but becomes more of a central focus in the last twenty minutes, when a man goes on a killing spree against everyone who has done him wrong in the past. The gruesome visions Cassie has been having of bloodied wounds all come to pass -- several people are shot, one in the head at close range. In a violent climax, someone is shot in the stomach and fatally wounded. Two men struggle and one of them is beaten rather badly (thrown to the ground and kicked multiple times) before electrocuting his attacker. A bomb goes off, leveling half the city square. It's implied that a dog has been killed. Dead crows and other animal and bird pelts are shown hanging outside a man's front door. In the American version, there is no sex scene, but in the European release, the audience is treated to a semi-graphic bedroom scene and backside nudity. The religious aspect is un-theological but does have a nice conclusion -- the implication that one of the "cursed ones" is redeemed by at last intervening in dark events rather than just watching them. This unique conclusion made me rather like it, even though at times it tries too hard to be taken seriously.