ONE DAY AFTER TEACHING CLASS, SEVERAL participants arranged a get together at a local restaurant. I agreed to join them after showering and changing clothes. The restaurant was a couple of miles away in the town’s business district and gratefully it had its own parking lot. As I entered the place, I saw at the back of the room a large table was set up with members from my class seated already. Walking up to the table, a couple of people commented how weird it was to see me in “regular” clothes as opposed to my workout wear. I laughed as I made my way to an empty seat. Though I recognized everyone sitting around the table, I did not know every one of them by name. There were a few who I had had little contact with except for the occasional giving of instructions and encouragement. The waitress came over and took our drink orders along with a few appetizer requests for the table. We then proceeded to cover several topics, such as the music I used in class, our new favorite restaurants, travel plans, and so on. It was not long before the waitress returned with our drinks and appetizers. More times than not at these types of events, someone will comment on how surprised they are that I am eating potato skins or garlic bread, thinking because I teach fitness, I would only eat a pure healthy diet. My usual response is to tell them I am not the type to live off tofu and broccoli. This usually gets a laugh out of people.      WHILE I WAS CONVERSING WITH THOSE closer to me, I was aware there were other conversations taking place at the table. One of the groups deep in conversation appeared more animated than the rest of us. I was curious as to what was being discussed but I did not want to be rude and leave my spot so that I could sit closer to them. As it turned out, I was not alone in wondering what was going on with them. Other members started shifting their focus on this group to the point that soon I was drawn in and able to listen to what people were talking about. They were discussing religion which surprised me because everyone in my classes knows I do not allow discussions about religion or politics to take place because I believe both are personal topics and from past history, know they will lead to disagreements or worse, to a fight. It turns out one of the members I was not familiar with had brought up the subject in the context that the member she was talking to would find comfort if she belonged to a church, namely her church. From the comments I was hearing, I was appalled. She was basically trying to convert this member. Before things could escalate, I repeated my rules about not discussing religion and politics and asked the participants to change the subject which was a kinder way compared to what the main character did in this psychological horror thriller.      AFTER TWO YOUNG RELIGIOUS WOMEN ARRIVE at the house of the gentleman who showed interest in their belief, they soon find themselves being tested in their own beliefs. With Hugh Grant (Wonka, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) as Mr. Reed, Sophie Thatcher (The Boogeyman, Yellowjackets-TV) as Sister Barnes, Chloe East (The Fabelmans, Popular Theory) as Sister Paxton, Topher Grace (In Good Company, That 70s Show-TV) as Elder Kennedy and Elle Young (A Score to Settle, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina-TV) as Prophet; I was pleasantly surprised that the story was more of a psychological thriller than horror. There were tense moments throughout most of the film, with most of them being led by Hugh Grant’s amazing acting. He did an excellent job with his character. However, the last quarter to third of the story fell out of favor with me as it seemed it wanted to rush to an unknown ending with a weird mix of scenes that were cliched, nonsensical and bloody violent. It was a shame because up until that point I appreciated the interesting, thought-provoking script that was starting to make me a believer.

3 stars