Shadow of God Film Review

Shadow of God Film Review

Halfway to Halloween Presented by Shudder

April showers bring May flowers – and the month of April brings us halfway to Halloween! This April, Shudder is celebrating with four new horror films debuting each week this month.

April 4 – 825 FOREST ROAD

April 11 – SHADOW OF GOD

April 18 – DEAD MAIL

April 25 – FREWAKA

I’ll be giving you the lowdown on each film before you tune in weekly.

This week we’ll taking a look at SHADOW OF GOD.

When several of his fellow Vatican exorcists are simultaneously killed, Father Mason Harper returns to his childhood home to spend time with childhood friend while he awaits orders from the Church.

However, this small town holds dark secrets about Mason's past and the religious organization once run by his father, Angus. Thought dead, Angus reappears, forcing a reunion between father and son. But Angus is different now, and before long, Mason suspects he’s possessed, not by the devil, but by something… holy.

When Mason attempts to exorcise the presence from his father, he sets off a chain of events that may end in a cataclysm of biblical proportions testing everything he holds sacred.

Take your initial thoughts about exorcism films and throw them out the window. As that’s exactly what director Michael Peterson did.

Mark O’Brien (READY OR NOT) does a fine job portraying a priest with heavy baggage. But as that baggage unfolds throughout the film, the main conflict becomes fuzzy until the climax of the film.

The climax is meant to be a big shock and twist but it felt underwhelming. It had myself asking, “Wait, is that it?”

I needed more around the consequences of the actions being taken in this film.

Peterson does provide an open-ended ending, but I didn’t feel invested enough for a continuation of the story.

Maybe my faith in religion has waned so much in today’s world that a film like this that is trying to convey a different message of faith, still didn’t quite do the job it intended – which is to question everything.

But decide for yourself if this twist of exorcism movie deserves more conversation and hit us up in the comments.