Now available from Synapse films.
Wanting to party and mess with a few of people, a group of college students go to a convent that is rumored to be haunted. Once they break in, they discover that something there is not finished yet and looking for new bodies to possess.
Written by Chaton Anderson and directed by Mike Mendez, this horror comedy from the year 2000 plays with religious horror tropes, possession, and a bit of cultish nonsense. Yes, nonsense which makes sense within this film. The comedy aspects work quite well here, and the horror is a bit silly but definitely fun. Where else can you see possessed nuns with glow-in-the-dark blood and Coolio as a cop? Nowhere, that’s where. The film here of course feels very much its age and its era in how it’s written and directed, but it’s still a bunch of fun to watch and a bit of a party movie. Of course, some elements did not age well here, but overall, the story still works and these iffy (at best, let’s be honest) elements can be made sense of due to the time period the film was made and released in. Yes, a few jokes are straight up inappropriate, especially when it comes to the gay character, so some may want to steer clear of the film. For fans of the film, this is mostly what you remember seeing on cable late one night or on rental on random Friday evening.
The cast here works well together with a few playing their characters a bit exaggerated. That being said, this way of handling their characters works well here within the story and the film itself. When nuns spew green glowing blood, you get a bit of leeway in how you play your caricatural character. Here, Coolio is gets to play law enforcement and so does Bill Moseley, Adrienne Barbeau shows up to play someone who knows how to handle things as she should, Megahn Perry plays the quintessential late 90s goth girl who knows more than you’d expect, creating a fun group of performances here. The rest of the cast does well mostly with a few who didn’t seem to get the memo on the wanted mood for the film. Overall, the acting works within the film and its story and that is all one can really ask for.
The music here is by genre favorite Joseph Bishara who was on his second feature film as a composer and who does quite well here giving the film’s mood an assist. The cinematography here is by Jason Lowe who also does well and adds to the atmosphere along with editor John Rosenberg. The special effects here steal the show a few times by their originality and how they work well to create something that is specific to the film’s needs. The designed of the possessed nuns is almost low-key grotesque and the glow-in-the-dark blood is fantastic.
The Convent may have a few issues and some problematic humor here and there but it’s still a lot of fun. The new release here from Synapse Films is a quality one with a solid transfer on the Blu-ray with good quality image transfer and sound. There are plenty of extras here with the gore outtakes possibly being the funniest and most fun of the bunch. The audio commentaries are a bit different with one showcasing the cast and crew and the other showcasing two of the characters Saul and Dickie-Boy which will be of limited interest to those who aren’t really huge fans of the film. The set visit is interesting and it oddly includes the set visit for Killers which could have been added to its own new re-release.