The Unholy
By Jeffrey Anderson,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Disappointing horror movie is boring despite jump scares.

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The Unholy
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What's the Story?
THE UNHOLY takes viewers to the small community of Banfield, Massachusetts, where disgraced reporter Gerry Fenn (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) arrives to do the kind of story he's been relegated to: investigating a local man's "mutilated" cow. Instead, Fenn finds a strange doll -- a "kern doll" -- with a strange date on it, under a nearby tree. He breaks it so that he can make up a story to go with the cow. Not long after, Alice (Cricket Brown), a young woman who is hard of hearing, makes her way to the tree and is suddenly healed: She can hear and speak. She has seemingly been healed by the Virgin Mary, and she implores others to believe. Fenn starts covering the story, and, as more miracles happen, he begins returning to his former glory. But Alice's uncle, Father Hagan (William Sadler), warns that, where miracles are present, the devil cannot be far behind.
Is It Any Good?
This atmospheric horror movie starts off well, with plenty of intriguing imagery and history, but it eventually drifts into autopilot, falling back on routine scares, lazy dialogue, and shortcuts. The Unholy is set in a small town where faith plays a key role, which means old churches and plenty of statues and candles, stained-glass windows, and other symbols -- and even a creaky church basement and a musty old book. There's whispered dialogue about the ancient mechanisms of good and evil and God and the devil. But once the story is underway and the mysteries are revealed, the mood is undone.
Morgan is terrific at this kind of thing, grizzled and sturdy but with an undeniable warmth. Yet his character changes rather rapidly from a self-obsessed, hard-drinking wreck into a man who cares deeply about others. (Other characters barely develop at all.) The plot twists happen too quickly, and mainly on the surface. The scary stuff is perhaps most disappointing, relegated to jump scares, buzzing or flickering lights, and a stale old digital monster that twitches and contorts and lurches ahead in fast-motion. All in all, The Unholy should say three "Hail Marys" for the sin of being boring.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about The Unholy's violence. Does the lack of blood and gore make it feel any less intense?
What's the appeal of horror movies? Why do people sometimes like being scared?
How is alcohol portrayed? Is it glamorized? Are there consequences? Why does that matter?
Do you believe that miracles can really happen? Why, or why not?
Movie Details
- In theaters: April 2, 2021
- On DVD or streaming: May 25, 2021
- Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Cricket Brown, Katie Aselton
- Director: Evan Spiliotopoulos
- Studio: Screen Gems
- Genre: Horror
- Topics: Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- Run time: 99 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG-13
- MPAA explanation: violent content, terror and some strong language
- Last updated: April 7, 2023
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