Flash Movie Review: The Vatican Tapes
I suppose it depends on one’s definition of evil whether they see evil taking place around them on a regular basis. Just yesterday I read an article in the newspaper about someone putting 12 kittens in a duffel bag and leaving them out on the street in 85 degree heat. Maybe you would not consider this an evil act, but I do. The person who did this could easily have brought the kittens to a shelter. Luckily all the kittens, except for being dehydrated, were okay and are being listed on animal welfare’s adoption list. When I hear news about a hit and run driver the first thing I think about is whether the driver was drunk. If not (though it still is not an excuse) then I do not understand how a person who knows they hit someone can continue driving without stopping to check on the damage they caused to that person. I would say the driver was an evil individual. Since I refer to myself as a defensive pessimist, my first inclination is to focus on the negative aspects of a situation; so someone could call me Mr. Doom and Gloom. But I do not know if that is an accurate description of me. I see evil things all around me, but I do not let them dictate my actions. Hopefully I do not devote my energy to such things; instead I remove myself from people who act out in evil ways. Granted that is something that is not easy to do as you will see in this horror film. SOMETHING was happening to the people around Angela Holmes, played by Olivia Dudley (Transcendence, Chernobyl Diaries). Father Lozano and Vicar Imani, played by Michael Pena (Ant-Man, American Hustle) and Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond, Guardians of the Galaxy), were one of the first to recognize what was happening to Angela. This thriller followed a standard formula for a horror story. I was actually surprised to see Michael and Djimon in this movie because the film really was a “B” maybe “C” type of movie. I could see the actors trying to do something with the low level script but there really was nothing they could do that would have made this picture exciting. Now there were a couple of scenes that had potential, especially because of the way Olivia played her character. She was able to show a different side of herself simply with a subtle change in her facial expressions; it provided a slightly eerie take on the scenes. However due to this type of good vs evil story being done many times before, there was not enough done here to make this film entertaining. Though I consider this movie as being not very good, I think it would be evil if the movie studio decided to make a sequel.
1 2/3 stars
Posted on July 30, 2015, in Thriller and tagged 1 2/3 stars, djimon hounsou, horror, kathleen robertson, michael pena, olivia dudley, thriller, vatican. Bookmark the permalink. 6 Comments.
Good review. Now I know to avoid this hackneyed slop.
Was this on Netflix?
I wish; it was at the movie theater.
This is the type of movie I don’t like to see… maybe because the devil is inside too many humans (as you reported at the beginning of your review)… the presence of the fallen angel is all around us, without necessity of make up or special effects. I see devilish acts, every time to open a newspaper or watch the news (actually we don’t have TV)… But still, a lot of people like to see such horror movies, I always wonder why. Maybe do you have a clue? Have a serene day :-)claudine
My hope is people are attracted to these type of films for the same people are attracted to roller coasters; to experience a rush of adrenalin. Hopefully it is not to get any ideas. Thank you for your comments, I appreciate it.
Sadly, it sounds like the sort of film that screams squeal to a studio.