Quick off the Top: The Unholy (1988)

I think certain films are the very definition of the mixed bag. The Unholy wasn't a VHS find for me back when I was a kid. I didn't even know it existed until the DirecTv Chiller Channel showed early on in their tenure on satellite television. It made enough of an impression, and I certainly wanted to see it uncut if just for Nicole Fortier (you can bet your bottom dollar she will show up on the blog a little later.) so it was only a matter of time, I guess, before the film got a dvd release all proper.

It feels very much like a train wreck production type of film. Reading of *necessary* re-shoots and *enhancements* doesn't surprise me, because I do think you can get an indication the way scenes are cut and move that the film suffered its share of distrust among those behind its making where the scissors gets passes around, with the final product getting it up the ass in the process.

The very serious approach the material seems quite sincere while the gore and special effects shenanigans would make you think otherwise. Cross never appears anything but respectful to the content, even though he'd have ever reason to just hijack The Unholy with a sleepwalk, "this shit sucks" kind of performance. Lee did that with The Howling II when everything about that movie wanted to be the shits. In a different film, William Russ' Luke character might have been rather interesting one to follow, but here he seems like a minor, insignificant cyst to the film it only wishes to sacrifice upside down, gutted, and eventually burning alive on a cross in St. Agnes for Cross' *chosen one* priest to see in horror. Talking about insignificant: poor Peter Frechette (right before this he was coming off the cult 80s rental shelf fodder, The Kindred) has two scenes, one of which he seems to pull Cross out a window as the priest crashes to the sidewalk (escaping without a scratch!) while another has him puking blood and (I guess) food or "inside juice" onto the alter of St. Agnes. The blood puking scene is quite an eyebrow raiser. It is preposterous and looks it. For some, this is the kind of shit that'll take you right out of a movie, but The Unholy litters/peppers the film with many of them. Cross defies Jill Carroll's virginal Millie's advances towards him in one particular scene, yet a little bit later he enters quietly into her room to elevator-eye her legs sticking out from the covers of her bed while she sleeps. Then that is the gist of it. Nothing else, except when Fortier's demon tries to seduce Cross' Father Michael through the image of Millie. Millie is a character that kind of arrives thanks to a previous dead priest Michael is replacing. She is used as a device for the demon to confuse and torment Michael. Luke gave Millie a place to belong after running away from home. She joined Luke's occult club, sort of indicating she gave her heart, mind, body, and soul to him when talking with Michael. However, Luke, who appears as an antagonist but the film seems to want to view him as not so villainous, just offered her a place to stay while she claims he tried to take advantage of her. There's this especially bizarre scene where Millie is in a padded cell after trying to stab Luke's eyes out with a fork. Blood is scattered in the cell (what, they couldn't clean to girl up after possibly sedating her?), and she's all deranged with Michael failing to help her (who could, though?). She was molested/abused by pops, and this has seriously damaged her. Eventually when she comes to her senses, Millie wants refuge/sanctuary at St. Agnes while Luke is reprimanded by Michael for trying (or so he believes) to touch Millie wrongly. Luke says he didn't do anything to her. Luke later shows a dark side when Michael comes to his club to make sure he knows to quit his devil worship antics (the previous priest's dog is slaughtered and left on the alter of the church), with Luke's hired help (brutish bruiser types) opening a switch blade to threaten to shut him up. Luke and Millie are characters the film has no clue how to define. They're all over the place. Luke is docile and even contemplative. Hell, he even cares for Millie and never really poses a threat to Michael besides his club successfully appealing to a crowd of likeminded occultists looking for some seedier type of entertainment. Luke even asks Michael to "watch over him" in one bizarre sequence where his room is taken up by a might wind that just scatters everything, trashing the place. The throat slashings and demons that pop up, along with Fortier's (much appreciated) *cough* "contributions" to the film, The Unholy is quite a showcase for numerous odd touches. Hal Holbrook has scenes as a much respected Archbishop, knowing what Cross must do, with the white-eyed Trevor Howard (blind and quite knowledgable of what is happening to St. Agnes) lending contributions.