The Rite

In 1973 the movie The Exorcist turned heads, both on screen and literally. It was with some expectation that I was excited about the release of 2011’s The Rite starring Anthony Hopkins as Father Lucas Trevant and Colin O’Donoghue as Michael Kovak. Kovak has just graduated from Seminary to become a priest and as quickly as he receives his credentials, he realizes he has questions of faith which will prevent him from accepting the collar. A professor recognizes his talents and believes he would be a suitable student to go to an Exorcism school in Rome. While there, his crisis of faith remains and he is soon sent to spend time with Father Lucas Trevant, played by Anthony Hopkins. Hopkins it seems is a sort of exorcist in residence and it is here that Kovak is forced to look at the reality of good and evil in a new way. It is as Father Trevant points out in one scene to Kovak, “Be careful Michael, choosing not to believe in the devil doesn't protect you from him.” As the two spend time together, despite Kovak’s skepticism, his faith begins to grow in God as he realizes the reality of evil.

The Rite is made in a thought provoking way with more emphasis on story and the crisis of faith Kovak is going through than it does on the paranormal as many may have become accustomed to in exorcism movies. The film directed by, Mikael Håfström, does a good job of keeping the concept believable, while at the same time, entertaining and thought provoking. As is the norm with these types of films, the haunting musical score plays into the story line as does the dark scenes used throughout the film. While there are certain components that transfer over well into the Blu-ray format, there was a lacking of character development. I was originally supposed to have an interview with the author of the book which the stories are based on, Matt Baglio, but for some reason that interview fell through as I anxiously awaited the opportunity to ask questions regarding the real story and the story on screen. A credit to the plot is it does perk interest in the paranormal and the process of exorcism which has existed primarily within the Catholic and Christian belief system for some years. While many are skeptical of the concept, the evidence seems to indicate an abundance of proof as to these episodes.

The story starts out with a young Kovak working in his family’s mortuary. His father, Istvan Kovak, played by Rutger Hauer, has dealt with the loss of his wife and raised his son on his own. It is the family’s history that one either enters the priesthood or remains in the family business. Kovak has had enough of preparing dead bodies while growing up and decides to give the priesthood a chance. We see the family background played back primarily in flashback sequences. Unfortunately they are muddied and make it difficult to follow the story. There are moments where the viewers have their questions answered, but all too often, there are not enough answers and the questions we see asked seem forced in their answers.

In The Rite we see a crisis of faith not just in the character of Kovak, but also the life of Father Trevant. Father Trevant is based on a real life character that has performed over 2,000 exorcisms. His challenges, if true, would give reason for any student of this Rite, (if it is to be called a skill, calling or Rite) to be skeptical of following ‘the call.’

The Rite is filled with religious symbolism specific to Christianity. There are many interesting questions presented regarding the existence of evil, specific to Satan and his demons, and Christianity, specific to Jesus Christ. There are certain concepts of exorcism that is unique and consistent enough to cause one to wonder about the reality of evil. As portrayed in The Rite, the demonic and evil forces that inhabit the souls of people can cause them to do harm to themselves and/or others, and there is a hatred that exists between the demonic forces and the forces of God. There is no doubt in these portrayals, including The Rite, that ultimately the force of God has more power, and exhibits the abilities to overcome the forces of evil. That isn’t to say it doesn’t come at a cost though. The Rite does a good job of showing there is potential danger to the person being possessed and to the persons performing the exorcisms. It is the unknown aspects of exorcism and possession that provide the scary moments in the movie. The thought that the danger of possession could happen to the individual watching the film has certainly entered more than one mind while watching films like this. It should be recognized that ultimately the power of God prevails over the power of Satan. It is through the power of God that one has the ability to overcome.

Despite the flaws in The Rite, I found myself enjoying the story, especially the last 30 minutes of the film. While it took some time to get to the horror of the film, it does ultimately arrive. We don’t see the horrific scenes we may have come to expect, but we believe in the possibility of what we see on screen. In this regard The Rite stands a notch above many exorcism films. There are definite challenges to the concepts of possession the movie ponders and I like that. I do wish the movie would have had better character development and taken the time to explore especially the role of Kovak’s family.

The DVD also has some respectable special features and the Blu-ray transfer is quite nice both visual and its sound. The edition I have has a digital version, the Blu-ray and standard DVD. There are ample features that will have fans of this type of movie desiring to own it. I personally found the video worth more of a rental than a purchase. This one will get mixed reviews in that area. The questions one could ask, debate, and discuss would certainly be worth discussion, for example, does demon possession exist? What are the rights to perform exorcism? Can individuals outside of the Catholic faith perform appropriate exorcisms? How doe the Devil and his demons present themselves? How does the world of exorcism and mental illnesses coexist? How are they similar? How are they different? These questions and many more are worthy discussions, and The Rite certainly asks and addresses each of these to some extent. Does that make the film worth owning? I don’t know, I will say the questions it raises certainly makes it worth watching.

To see the video posted below click on the video. If the video isn’t at full scale or doesn’t show up, click on the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhHnP-9iekg


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The Amityville Horror 2005 Blu-Ray

One of the most controversial, and studied horrors in America History involved a house in the Long Island community of New York known as Amityville. The story resulted in a top selling book, and a movie franchise that has resulted in 9 films. The latest theatrical release was in 2005. The Michael Bay produced film directed by Andrew Douglas is now on Blu Ray DVD. While the film starring Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George as George and Kathy Lutz is well made, it doesn’t fully explore the supposed and controversial history of the house at 112 Ocean Avenue that has led to skepticism among many and assurances of others regarding the haunting and murders which took place.

While there is skepticism and controversy that still exists regarding the haunting experienced by the Lutz family, there is no doubt as to the murders which actually occurred at the house on November 13, 1974. The story, as presented in the movie has it that 24 year old Ronald, ‘Butch’ Defeo Jr. took a 35 caliber, lever action Marlin rifle and shot and murdered his mother, father, two sisters and two brothers. He later claimed to have heard the devil telling him to “kill them all”.

The movie starts out showing the book, Evil is Proof of God, which has been read and marked up by Butch. Butch then proceeds on a shooting spree killing his family. After the house has set vacant for approximately 1 year, the Lutz’s recognize what they think is a good deal and buy the house. While the realtor is somewhat hesitant in showing the house, she later tells them the history of the house after they inquire about the price of the house. Despite their knowledge of the history of the house, the Lutz’s decide to purchase it. Shortly after moving in the newly married couple, and three children, (Kathy Lutz was a widow from a former marriage with 3 children) the family experiences what in real life, the Lutz’s swore was the true story of a horrific 28 days prior to moving out. While some in real life speculated the family moved out due to their inability to pay the mortgage, others speculate the events as largely portrayed in the movie, along with the haunting, poltergeist, and hallucinations, actually occurred. There seems to be collaborating evidence from real life priest, Father Ralph J. Pecoraro, played as Father Callaway by Philip Baker Hall in the 2005 movie and other sources that give credibility to the story.

On the surface, the exceptional editing, terrific sound to support a horror story, and acting are decent, the story just isn’t there. There are too many jumps in the script and few answers, for that matter, the appropriate questions aren’t asked that could have provided insight into the actual story. The 2005 movie is a rather poor remake of the original 1979 film starring James Brolin and Margot Kidder. The age of the older version adds to the visual horror better than the high definition Blu-Ray. While there is a sequence in the film resembling older 35 MM home video footage outside of this, there is little to appreciate about the film and transfer. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t benefit from the high tech aspects and one of the faults in the direction is the thought that newer techniques in the transfer would give reason for a remake and rerelease. While there are some good camera angles in the film, and unique perspectives, specifically within some of the Point of View shots, it seems as if the underlying themes that made the real story, and the legend of the haunting so scary is somehow lost in translation. I don’t see the need for a remake; I certainly don’t see the benefit of it being transferred to Blu-Ray some years later.

This movie touches on aspects of evil and good, and recognizes the reality of evil. What that evil is, and where it comes from is not fully explored in the story. We do hear about a supposed Indian burial ground, a fact in dispute in the real Amityville. While there is the possibility of evil coming from Satan presented in the movie, it is never really explored outside of the viewer seeing the book being read by Butch prior to the murders and the recognition of the house needing to be blessed and ‘exorcised.’ This also too place in real life by the Lutz’s. While the mother, a non practicing Catholic, and George Lutz, a non practicing Methodist, seemed to understand the importance of religion in the attempt to ‘cleanse’ the house it wasn’t until near the end of the 28 days the family decided to explore this option.

With the history of the house, and the legends surrounding it, one would almost have to work at ruining the story, that is exactly what we have in this movie, a story that isn’t that good, and not very scary. The transfer of the Blu-Ray high definition has nothing of value, certainly nothing to justify the higher price for the DVD combo package including the Blu-Ray version and the regular DVD version. The only benefit are the special features including the Deleted Scenes, Supernatural Homicide an exploration of the real murders, The Source of Evil, a Photo Gallery and more. While the special features seem to offer an exploration into the real story, they also lack the detail one would normally hope for, even here though, there is nothing new and this material has been available for some time for those researching the history of the Amityville Horror.

While the concept behind the story is intriguing, and quite interesting because of the exploration of good and evil, the movie and DVD fall short. One may challenge that good and evil cannot exist without the other and that is certainly a worthy debate and discussion. There is little good and little offered in that debate and discussion on this DVD though. There is nothing special about the DVD and the Blu-Ray version to justify the purchase. While one may find some value in the special features, I did not. That doesn’t change the need to search though, I just happen to prefer the potential and possibility of hope and good, unfortunately, The Amityville Horror, 2005 offers neither.

To see the trailer for the film just click on the video below, if it doesn’t appear, click on the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xHJOG03eDE


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