Film Review: CONSECRATION (2023): Jena Malone Stars in an Ambitious and Twisty Yet Underwhelming Horror Film

Consecration Review

Consecration (2023) Film Review, a movie directed by Christopher Smith, written by Laurie Cook and Christopher Smith and starring Jena Malone, Danny Huston, Ian Pirie, Janet Suzman, Thoren Ferguson, Steffan Cennydd, Eilidh Fisher, Victoria Donovan, Angela White, David Boyle and Alexandra Lewis.

Jena Malone plays a woman with a troubled past in director Christopher Smith’s ambitious and extremely bloody religious horror film, Consecration. This movie has a fascinating premise which is undermined by its twist ending which has some similar vibes to movies with surprise endings such as Fight Club. Consecration feels at times a bit like The Silence of the Lambs meets Stigmata with one too many plot holes. Still, Malone makes it worth a watch for horror fans who may be intrigued by the movie’s unpredictable nature.

Set mostly in Scotland, Malone sports a heavy accent playing an eye doctor named Grace (this movie’s metaphors are definitely not subtle) whose brother (a priest) has killed himself and a fellow priest as the movie’s story line begins. Mother Superior (Janet Suzman) has washed Grace’s brother’s hands of blood as Grace discovers when she takes notice that her brother’s dead body seems to have been tampered with.

The scenes in the past are the strongest in the film. As Grace reveals, her mother was killed by her father who is currently serving time in prison. As Vincent, Grace’s dad, Ian Pirie delivers a terrifying and remarkable performance. One of the most powerful scenes in the picture is when Grace visits Vincent in jail. There is remarkable complexity to the relationship between Grace and her dad which is further shed light on by the movie’s plot revelations.

Danny Huston serves as Father Romano who has come to the convent to try to pick up the pieces after the horrific events which were unleashed at the movie’s start. Huston’s character is a driving force in the story line and the actor makes the most of his rather simplistic dialogue by playing the part very seriously.

Jena Malone is the reason anyone would want to see Consecration, though. There are some loops in the story which feel like a roller coaster ride. Besides being a movie about organized religion and this particular religion’s beliefs that seem grounded in an uncertain reality, there’s the matter of the murder suicide and how it impacts Grace’s past, present and future. Malone is always an actress who chews into her roles and she doesn’t sugarcoat this performance. It’s vulnerable, brave and excellent.

It’s hard to say a lot of admirable things about the picture once it reaches its blood saturated climax. There are some quality supporting performances, however. Thoren Ferguson as a detective is particularly noteworthy as is Alexandra Lewis as Sister Beth. These two roles stand out in the film as fascinating pieces of the puzzle the movie presents to the audience.

Some of the twists in the movie are really absurd, yet amazingly frightening simultaneously. A key character is given the chance to right the wrong of his or her past but has to be condemned to being put under ground forever in order to do so. That character is unwilling to take that chance even with the promise of immortal life. So, this person rebels as all hell quite literally breaks loose on the screen. Or something like that.

While Consecration has a mystery at its core that is underdeveloped (or perhaps overdeveloped depending on how one examines the revelations the film presents), Ian Pirie expertly plays Grace’s dad who will keep audiences guessing as to his true motivations within the context of the plot. Is Grace as innocent as she seems? You will have to see the picture to find out.

Consecration throws in so many plot twists willy-nilly that it could one day become a cult classic. Until then, one can admire Malone’s daring performance here and only hope that when the movie is released to DVD or Blu Ray there are deleted scenes which could shed further light on the film’s surprising ending. Examining the clues given in the film, it’s hard to piece together the mystery. Perhaps, if the movie took more time to present the clues more coherently it would have been a better film. Still, Malone’s blood soaked performance is a step in the right direction for Malone who should get a role worthy of her talents in the not-too-distant future.

Rating: 6/10

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