Not perfect, but still an entertaining apocalyptic horror yarn

Rating: 7/10 (14 May 2016)

The latest comic-book offering from Hollywood is this dark, depressing supernatural thriller which sees Keanu Reeves as a Neo-like hero, this time employed as an exorcist to prevent half-breed demons from entering our plane. The plotting and back story of the film is impressive, with plenty of technobabble to delight the viewers, and the acting isn't half bad either. Reeves is very good as the laconic, chain-smoking star, giving a relaxed and mature performance, one of the reasons I like him more and more as the years progress. Rachel Weisz is also effective as the heroine, proving to be more than just a woman-in-peril, and her natural beauty shines through many of the odd sequences in which she partakes.
Further down the cast, we have a trio of outstanding performances from a) Djimon Hounsou as Papa Midnite, a voodoo practitioner with buckets of style, b) the singer Gavin Rossdale as impossible suave demon Balthazar, and c) Pruitt Taylor Vince, he of the bizarre eyes, as a sympathetic clergyman. Other, odder performances come from androgynous Tilda Swinton as the archangel Gabriel, and Peter Stormare, looking weird and repulsive, as Satan, although this latter portrayal is ultimately disappointing.
One flaw is that the film does feel lengthy, with some repetition, and is let down by a last act which is dragged out to the extreme, with anticlimax after anticlimax. Saying that, it struggles admirably with religious conundrums, and isn't afraid to shy away from violence and blasphemy to achieve horrific effects. The film is not really action-orientated, like THE MATRIX series, instead acting as more of an acopalyptic horror, and there are plenty of jump-in-your-seat scares, especially one at the opening. The best thing by far are the special effects, especially those of the demons and the glimpses of Hell we get, which are simply fantastic and surpass anything else seen recently.
The film does feel somewhat corny in places, and there are familiar elements from THE EXORCIST and HELLBOY which crop up in a clichéd light. It is also pretty dark and depressing, dealing as it does with death, destruction and sin, so don't expect much in the way of enjoyment. Instead, sit back and watch as this visionary ride offers something new and half-original, and ignore the shortcomings which are easily made up for by the good stuff.