Consecration (2023) Movie Review - Below Average Religious Horror
Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are taking a look at religious themed Supernatural Horror movie Consecration from 2023. This movie arrived earlier this year as a Shudder original and stars Neon Demon actor Jena Malone. Directed by the fantastic Christopher Smith who brought us an absurdly great collection of movies including Black Death, Triangle and Severance. It is something of a surprise that this movie is, simply, rather dull and a bit average. Let’s take a look.
Supernatural Religious Horror
Let’s be real, supernatural religious horror movies tend to be one of two things. Creepy, captivating and incredibly effective or extremely slow paced, boring and full of recycled ideas. The big question is, where does Consecration fall in that equation? Well, the bad news is that it isn’t particularly captivating. It certainly isn’t creepy and I wouldn’t go as far as to say it is effective. What it is, however, is somewhat adventurous in its approach to the genre.
Following the story of Grace. Consecration starts with her hearing about the death of her brother. A deeply religious man, he had been spending time at a convent. His time there came to an end when he was found dead at the bottom of a cliff. Suspected to have committed suicide, Grace is shocked to find out he was also a suspect in a murder. Determined to find out what happened, Grace heads to the Isle of Skye, in Scotland, to uncover the mystery behind his death.
Very Familiar
Consecration offers a distinct sense of Deja-vu. Religious iconography accents almost every shot, Latin hymns provide the score for many of the scenes, a Vatican assigned Father frequently interjects for story exposition. It’s all extremely familiar. Even Grace’s strained relationship with God feels like an overly recycled element; her disdain for prayers and religion frequently used to cause conflict.
It is due to Consecration’s lack of innovation that it struggles to hold a viewer’s focus. This is a plain and simple Religious horror, there isn’t anything new here and there is very little to hold onto. It isn’t particularly interesting religious horror, either. By the time the movie opens up and shows some innovation, it is likely the viewer will have long since lost interest.
A wave of similar horror movies in the past 20 years don’t help. This is a theme that has become somewhat threadbare for its overuse in horror. Still, there is a market for this type of thing. The setting is one that horror viewers are comfortable with and movies like this always seem to find an audience. But when it comes to a wider reach, Consecration is going to really struggle to impress.
But Is It Really a Horror?
Something that may stand out with Consecration is its lack of scares. For the vast majority of its length, it feels like something of a mystery thriller. It is quick to push aside themes of the supernatural, instead keen to engage in the mystery surrounding the death of Grace’s brother. Incidentally, this is the place where the movie feels strongest. The strange circumstances surrounding the murder suicide, and the bizarre actions of the nuns connected to it, are the main elements of the movie that provoke interest.
There is a genuine desire to find out what is going on. Making it quite easy to forget that you are watching something marketed as a horror movie. This isn’t religious horror in the sense of The Exorcist or similar. The horror elements are pushed far off to the side. Despite the similar themes and the all too familiar presentation, you aren’t going to see floating spectres and hideous demons here. That is not what Consecration is about.
A Twist Ending
Director Christopher Smith is someone who enjoys playing around with continuity. With Consecration, he aims to keep the viewer off base. Throwing them to the future before taking them to the past and then back again. It’s slightly disorientating but plays heavily into the twist ending. An ending that finally offers the movie a chance to feel a little different.
It does beg the question, though. Was it worth it? I can’t help but think that the ending feels like something of a hail Mary. (No pun intended). It’s all well and good pulling the rug from under the viewer’s feet. But, by the time the ending rolled around, I was no longer invested and didn’t particularly care.
This isn’t helped by said ending offering an unsatisfactory explanation for events. Much of what the ending alludes to doesn’t make a great deal of sense. There are a whole bunch of plot holes and little in the way of expanding on what takes place. It feels incredibly half baked and, to be frank, a bit tacked on. I actually chuckled at a few of the scenes. They felt a little on the silly side, especially given the way they were presented. For all its attempts to subvert expectation, little is accomplished to make Consecration feel like anything other than a run of the mill religious horror. Albeit a pretty gorgeous one.
Stunning Cinematography
Consecration is an absolutely beautiful movie. It’s one of those films that you can find enjoyment in purely from how it looks. The movie opens with some simple but fantastic indoor shots, cleverly utilising space to make corridors feel endless. Leading Grace down a hallway before turning to face a mirror seamlessly and with no reflection. It is incredibly skillful camera work and easy to marvel at. As the film opens up to outdoor shots of the gorgeous Scottish scenery, it’s impossible not to be blown away.
Silky smooth drone work captures the hills in incredible clarity. A beautiful shot of the sun setting over the water introduces us to the highlands themselves. It is glorious. The amazing camerawork never lets up throughout, all aided beautifully by the landscape and the incredible filming locations. Consecration is gorgeous and, at times, a joy to behold. The picture does suffer for being a little too dark towards the middle.
Mixed Acting
I imagine I will get crucified for this (another pun!), but I thought the well loved Jena Malone was pretty bad here. Sorry guys, I know she is really well liked but I, honestly, felt she was the weakest part of the movie. Her accent is terrible, fluttering between English, American, Scottish and I don’t know what, randomly throughout the film. She is often wooden and struggles to emote. I didn’t feel this role suited her at all. The dramatic ending suffers particularly for some of her odd facial expressions. Again, she is a decent actor, I am well aware of this. She just didn’t fit this role well at all.
I enjoyed Danny Huston as Father Romero. He doesn’t tend to oversell the performance, something that seems all too common with men playing priests in horror movies. Janet Suzman was decent as Mother Superior, putting in a suitably warm, but slightly sinister, performance as the head of the convent. Thoren Ferguson was fine as Detective Harris, feeling very much like the fish out of water cop that he is, given everything that is going on around him. The cast was generally fine with the exception of Malone. As I said above, I hate to say it.
Should You Watch Consecration?
Consecration is really not a bad movie but whether you should watch, or not, depends on your tolerance for religious horror. It just doesn’t do much new with an overly familiar formula. It attempts to mix things up a bit, offering an ending that is somewhat fresh and fairly innovative. In doing so, however, it falls into the same pitfalls as many other religious horror movies. It is light on scares, isn’t particularly unsettling and walks an overly well tread path. Still, if you are looking for something to scratch that religious itch, Consecration may just fit the bill.
