Director: Mark Polonia
Year: 2025
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
After a series of disturbing signs, a special collection of servants believing themselves under God’s will set out to eliminate the supposed vessels thought to harbor the potential for the Devil to return to Earth, sending them out in a race to stop the disciples to save the world.
Review:
There was a lot more to like with that one than expected. Among its better elements is the somewhat intriguing and feverish storyline that manages to paint a cheesy tone for the apocalyptic showdown to continue. Selling itself on the virtue of the various signs of the Satanic rebirth in the world and forcing the sect to take action by stalking and killing the disciples believed to be the main cause of everything, it allows this one to speed through the various introductions to the suspected agents and their targets before setting out into an episodic approach involving the encounter between the two. It’s a generally unique tactic that brings in different figures with the same motivation to stop the activities depicted as the individual setups are under the same mindset, which makes for a silly enough time.
That carries over into their assignments as the various demonic agents and the robed monks carrying out the attempted assassination. Focusing on lengthy, oftentimes suspenseful stalking scenes that often feature prolonged sequences, the agent follows them through empty concert halls, trails them on the streets, or into different complexes, which usually end in cheesy and goofy setups. Overall, this becomes quite fun. The sense of cheese depicted in these scenes, featuring the clumsy choreography and goofy resolution, is what helps to make them that much more fun, yet can also be a decided detriment by making the most glaring flaw readily apparent with the low-budget shining through at almost every opportunity necessary, from the production style, effects, on-screen action, and overall presentation.
Beyond that, there are also several other small factors that hold it back. The strange series of insert storylines here designed to pad out the running time, from the one agent’s relationship with her ex trying to worm his way back into her life as she prepares for her mission to the series of interludes showing the lead monk praying continuously throughout the film and the random interjections into the rest of society, this one is quite heavily padded at times with secondary storylines that aren't needed. Additionally, some of the storylines themselves aren’t explained, with the finale twist operating mostly as a surprise moment rather than anything else, which leaves this one somewhat more confusing than it would be based on the actions presented before, and this is what helps hold it together.
Overview: **.5/5
An overall enjoyable if somewhat problematic genre effort, this one has enough going for it to be a watchable enough feature, even if there are a multitude of flaws keeping it down. Those who appreciate this kind of style or presentation, or are fans of the creative crew, will be the most likely audience here, while most others out there should heed extreme caution.
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