It Starts with AGNES

 

Jeri Jacquin

Having its World Premiere at Tribeca and coming to theatres from writer/director Mickey Reece and QWGmire comes the story of believing and disbelieving when it comes to AGNES.

Father Donaghue (Ben Hall) and soon-to-be priest Benjamin (Jake Horowitz) have been called up to take a case at a local convent. It seems that young sister Agnes (Hayley McFarland) is showing signs of possession and they need someone who has been trained in exorcism. 

The two men enter the convent into the glaring eyes of Mother Superior (Mary Buss) who is not at all happy with the two men potentially disrupting their lives. Believing that it will only take one meeting to solve the problem, Father Donaghue convinces the nuns to do what he says and all will be well.

One nun who is not quite so sure is Sister Mary (Molly C. Quinn) who is a close friend of Agnes'. Trying to understand what is happening to her friend is not easy, and as Agnes lashes out at everyone who comes near her, Sister Mary is the only one who still sees her friend.

As everything starts to go haywire in the convent, Sister Mary decides to reenter the world and find a place for herself. Struggling from her underpaid job, a sleazy boss, rent due and discovering someone from Agnes' past - it starts to become clear that Mary has a secret of her own.

Quinn as Mary is a young woman caught up between two worlds and a friendship that is slowly being torn apart. She is hiding behind a habit and then hides behind her own emotions which brings so many twists to her character. Quinn gives us mixed messages from start to finish but it’s the finish you have to be careful of.

Horowitz is a young priest that is not quite yet a priest, waiting to take his vows he is sent to keep an eye on the good Father. His faith and belief in the church and what it stands for is something he is not willing to compromise. Horowitz is the quiet, strong with his character representing something deeper.

Hall as Father Donaghue is a priest that has been questioning his own faith and has a short fuse about it all. Knowing the church is just one stone’s throw away from kicking him to the curb, it adds a bit more bite to the story but there is more it’s just that I'm not going to tell you!

Thumbs up to Buss as Mother Superior - what a crazy, wide eyed disturbing woman who I thought was the one possessed! Standing strong for her convent, you get the feeling she'd prefer to never see a male face ever again in her life.

Other cast include Chris Browning as Father Black, Rachel True as Sister Ruth, Zandy Hartig as Sister Honey, Bruce Davis as Earl, Ginger Gilmartin as Wanda, Chris Freihofer as Father Cappa, Rita Scranton as Sister Gertrude, Jacob Snovel as Pete, Cait Brasel as Sister Margaret and Sean Gunn as Paul Satchimo.

AGNES is a suspense film from start to finish with a cast that each brings something unique and a tad frightening to their characters. I am not Catholic, but I certainly would not want Mother Superior pointing a boney finger at me or having access to a ruler! Father Donaghue’s attitude came at a high price and probably a huge change in his belief system.

MacFarland and Quinn, when they are in scenes together bring together a friendship in a place where outside freedoms and convent life are constantly clashing making life a little tougher for both. When Quinn takes to the outside world, the real world is not going to cut her one bit of slack so – she gets a little cranky.

The flow of the film is intriguing even if the ending throws up signs of wtf? Nothing wrong with keeping the spiritual door open for another chance to make the acquaintance of the creepy world beyond.

In the end – demons travel fast!

THE VAST OF NIGHT is a Fantastic Era Sci-Fi Thriller

Jeri Jacquin

Currently on Amazon Prime from writer/director Andrew Patterson is a fantastic look at one night looking up into the sky with THE VAST OF NIGHT.

It is a warm night in New Mexico in 1950 when Fay (Sierra McCormick) takes over the switchboard for her mother. What Fay genuinely wants to do is use her new tape recorder to interview people. Guiding her along is Everett (Jake Horowitz), a radio DJ at WOTW that everyone in town listens to on the local station.

While a sporting event is going on at the high school, strange things are happening that Fay and Everett are taking notice of. Fay is experiencing strange telephone calls from townsfolk about

noises they are hearing and then the calls drop. Fay calls Everett to ask if any of his callers are noticing strange happenings as well.

That's when Everett receives a telephone call from a man named Billy (Bruce Davis) who claims to know what has been going on in the world. He tells them a story that leaves Fay and Everett stunned but even more shocking is the proof the caller offers that leads them straight to a forgotten tape in the local library.

Both Fay and Everett know that it is time to do everything possible to discover what is happening to their small town before word spreads as fast as the panic!

McCormick as Fay is a character ahead of her time. Gifted with a recorder, she wants to learn to interview people about their stories. She sees a career for herself outside the small dusty little town in New Mexico. She is clearly smart, clever and on the hunt for answers. McCormick gives her character everything she needs to succeed, even a bit of healthy fear. Her performance is stunning.

Horowitz as Everett is the town big guy because, after all, he is the DJ of the radio station! There was a time when radio stations were the gods of bringing music to the masses. They could walk down the street and have people be in awe. Horowitz pulls that off marvelously and when the time comes to jump in with Fay, he becomes as serious about every move they make. This is a dynamic duo and I was all in every step of the way.

 Other cast include Cheyenne Barton as Bertsie, Mark Banik as Gerald, Gregory Peyton as Benny, Rodkey Oliver as Adam, Mallorie Rodak as Susan, Mollie Milligan as Marjorie, Ingred Fease as Gretchen, Brandon Stewart as Sam, Krik Griffith as Lon and Gail Cronauer as Mabel Blanche.

Amazon Prime offers television shows and original content included in its Amazon Prime subscription. Original programs such as CARNIVAL ROW, THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, and THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL are hit shows. Coming soon is the next series with GOLIATH starring Billy Bob Thornton and it promises to another successful and intense series. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.amazonprime.com.

THE VAST OF NIGHT is actually quite brilliantly done. Not only is it set in a time where it was a new thing to hear and see the stories of UFO's and such, but everything about the film harks back to the 1950's.

The cast bring it all together reeling me into their journey but along with the costuming, cars, music and gathering of a town at the local gymnasium on a Friday night is reminiscent to me. I am the type that has to be drawn in hook, line and sinker and THE VAST OF NIGHT does just that.

It is not an 'in your face' story or an explosion of aliens but instead the sleuthing of Fay and Everett who are not about to sit around and be taken over by something they do not understand. These two are on the case, as it were, to discover what is true and how they can stop it if that is even something they can do.

Writers Patterson and Craig W. Sanger have made every effort to make the audience believe they are in New Mexico in the 1950's but they have also added homages to other films and filmmakers. The radio station WOTW where Everett is a DJ stands for 'War of the Worlds' from the H.G. Wells classic, the character of Renny is Michael Rennie who was Klaatu in the 1951 THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. Even the town of Cayuga gives homage to Rod Serling's Cayuga Productions.

The relationship between Fay and Everett was a straight joy to watch. This is a film that I would highly recommend for those who want to sit back and have a good yarn be told with the lights off and a bowl of popcorn.

In the end - the answers are in what they hear!