On the trail of her missing sister, Charlotte enlists the help of Wayne, an ex-Marine and alcoholic, to infiltrate the Church of One Accord – a community of snake-handlers who risk their lives seeking salvation in the Holy Ghost.
Holy Ghost People, the latest genre film from Mitchell Altieri, one half of “The Butcher Brothers” (The Hamiltons, its sequel The Thompsons, as well as April Fool’s Day and The Violent Kind) has been picked up for distribution by XLrator Media, who will handle the film in all North American territories.
I liked the film, having caught it at SXSW, but I’m hoping they take this chance to tweak some of the elements that didn’t quite work (they had literally just finished that version of the film hours before the SXSW deadline).
Starring Emma Greenwell, Brendan McCarthy, Joe Egender, Cameron Richardson and Roger Aaron Brown, the film begins on the trail of her missing sister, Charlotte enlists the help of Wayne, an ex-Marine and alcoholic, to infiltrate the Church of One Accord – a community of snake-handlers who risk their lives seeking salvation in the Holy Ghost. It World Premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas.
Click here for my review. READ MORE
Evan Dickson reports back with thoughts on Holy Ghost People, the latest genre film from Mitchell Altieri, one half of “The Butcher Brothers” (The Hamiltons, its sequel The Thompsons, as well as April Fool’s Day and The Violent Kind). Starring Emma Greenwell, Brendan McCarthy, Joe Egender, Cameron Richardson and Roger Aaron Brown, the film begins on the trail of her missing sister, Charlotte enlists the help of Wayne, an ex-Marine and alcoholic, to infiltrate the Church of One Accord – a community of snake-handlers who risk their lives seeking salvation in the Holy Ghost. It World Premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas.
After being critically smashed for The Violent Kind, it sounds like Altieri is charming audiences once again.
“I was really digging this tale, steeped in the world of Appalachian snake-handling churches, as a sort of Martha Marcy May Marlene meets The Vanishing hybrid. It shows a remarkable restraint and the aesthetic is authentic enough to make you feel like you’re actually in this world,” said Dickson before bringing the hammer down. “Unfortunately, a series of questionable decisions towards the end of the film diminished some of my goodwill.”
Click here for the entire review. READ MORE
Like so many films at SXSW, I walked into Holy Ghost People utterly blind and not knowing at all what to expect. For the majority of the film’s running time I was handsomely rewarded – this is a well shot piece of work with an intriguing premise and several amazing performances. I was really digging this tale, steeped in the world of Appalachian snake-handling churches, as a sort of Martha Marcy May Marlene meets The Vanishing hybrid. It shows a remarkable restraint and the aesthetic is authentic enough to make you feel like you’re actually in this world. Unfortunately, a series of questionable decisions towards the end of the film diminished some of my goodwill.
Holy Ghost People starts out intriguingly when drifting alcoholic Wayne [Brendan McCarthy] wakes up, bloodied and hungover, on his couch. In the shower is a beautiful stranger Charlotte [Emma Greenwell - whose soulful determination is one of the film's biggest assets] who, once she emerges, makes damn sure he’s going to pay her back for saving his ass in a bar fight a few hours ago. The favor she requests? To accompany her to “The Church Of One Accord” – a religious cult compound atop a remote Appalachian mountain – in search of her sister who disappeared there.
The film has a poetic, lyrical voice-over that feels a little out of place here, but otherwise it’s smooth (and occasionally exhilarating) sailing for sometime after this. Director Mitchell Altieri does a nice job of not only establishing the geography of the compound, but making it feel lived in and real. You can almost smell the place and the faux peacefulness its selling. It also doesn’t hurt that Joe Egender (who also co-wrote and produced the film) turns in a truly electrifying* performance as Brother Billy, the enigmatic leader of the compound.
Sadly, the film shifts gears for its last act in a manner that feels out of character for the film we’ve come to know and enjoy for the past hour or so. It’s not that Holy Ghost People goes totally off the rails, but it teeters dangerously close. Wayne gets into some righteous shotgun justice that distracts us from the resolution of the film’s central mystery. And the voiceover, which once alternated between engaging and irksome, veers into complete irrelevance – telling us things as we’re watching them happen without deepening the context. I’m not a stickler about narration, in fact I feel like I welcome it more than most of my fellow critics. But it has to be done right and here the poetic Terrence Malick vibe they’re going for just muddies the tone of the film. If Altieri wants to play with this sort of thing, he should save it for a different movie and cut the vast majority of it out of this one entirely.
Overall, I’d recommend Holy Ghost People with a few reservations. At the screening I attended, they mentioned that this cut was only 6 days old and they were still toying with it. If they could lose most of the narration and trim some of the incongruous action during the film’s climax, those reservations would diminish greatly.
*I rarely use the word “electrifying” out of a fear of sounding like Peter Travers, but I feel it’s appropriate here.
We’ve just now landed the first official image and festival trailer for Holy Ghost People, the latest genre film from Mitchell Altieri, one half of “The Butcher Brothers.”
Penned by Altieri, as well as Kevin Artigue, Joe Egender, and Phil Flores, “On the trail of her missing sister, Charlotte enlists the help of Wayne, an ex-Marine and alcoholic, to infiltrate the Church of One Accord – a community of snake-handlers who risk their lives seeking salvation in the Holy Ghost.”
Emma Greenwell, Brendan McCarthy, Joe Egender, Cameron Richardson, Roger Aaron Brown all star in the film set to premiere at next week’s SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas.
The Butcher Brothers directed The Hamiltons, its sequel The Thompsons, as well as April Fool’s Day and The Violent Kind. READ MORE
Earlier this month brought you a poster exclusive on The Frankenstein Theory. The film is directed by Andrew Weiner and stars Kris Lemche, Heather Stephens, Eric Zuckerman, Brian Henderson, Joe Egender and Roger Morrissey. As previously reported, the film hits VOD and select theaters on March 1st from Image Entertainment. Now it looks like the DVD will hit on March 26th.
“From the makers of ‘The Last Exorcism’ comes a boldly original vision of horror…
What if the most chilling novel of all time was actually based on a true account of a horrific experiment gone awry? When he is suspended from his university job for his outlandish ideas, Professor John Venkenheim leads a documentary film crew to the rim of the Arctic Circle in a desperate effort to vindicate his academic reputation. His theory: Mary Shelley’s ghastly story, “Frankenstein,” is, in fact, a work of non-fiction disguised as fantasy. In the vast, frozen wilderness, Venkenheim and his team search for the legendary monster, a creature mired in mystery and drenched in blood. What they find is an unspeakable truth more terrifying than any fiction…a nightmare from which there is no waking.”
You can keep up with the film at Facebook. Head inside for the poster! READ MORE
A movie that had previously not been on my radar is The Frankenstein Theory, but I’m going to start keeping an eye out for it now. Directed by Andrew Weiner and starring Kris Lemche, Heather Stephens, Eric Zuckerman, Brian Henderson, Joe Egender and Roger Morrissey. We’ve also got an exclusive one-sheet to show you guys!
“From the makers of ‘The Last Exorcism’ comes a boldly original vision of horror…
What if the most chilling novel of all time was actually based on a true account of a horrific experiment gone awry? When he is suspended from his university job for his outlandish ideas, Professor John Venkenheim leads a documentary film crew to the rim of the Arctic Circle in a desperate effort to vindicate his academic reputation. His theory: Mary Shelley’s ghastly story, “Frankenstein,” is, in fact, a work of non-fiction disguised as fantasy. In the vast, frozen wilderness, Venkenheim and his team search for the legendary monster, a creature mired in mystery and drenched in blood. What they find is an unspeakable truth more terrifying than any fiction…a nightmare from which there is no waking.”
The Frankenstein Theory hits VOD on March 1st from Image Entertainment. Theatrical engagements are TBD. You can keep up with the film at Facebook. Head inside for the poster! READ MORE
The indie feature from the directors of The Hamiltons, the producers of Halloween and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and producers Michael Ferris Gibson and Jeremy Platt, revolves around a group of young bikers who find themselves tormented by mysterious and gory goings-on in a secluded farmhouse.
One night at a secluded farmhouse deep in the Northern California woods, a small group of hardened young bikers and their girlfriends are tormented when one of the girls becomes savagely possessed and a gang of “Rockabillies” seemingly from the 1950′s descends upon them to collect what is growing inside her.
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