Shadow of God seeks to make waves in a sea of possession-horror flicks by putting its own spin on the sub-genre. In reality, this is an hour-and-a-half of unfortunately underwhelming theist horror.
★★☆☆☆
In the film, exorcist Mason Harper’s (Mark O’Brien) already biblically bizarre world is turned upside down when his previously deceased father, Angus (Shaun Johnston), shows up on his doorstep. Seeking refuge from an initially undefined big-bad, Mason takes him in. As the pair discuss their unconventional reunion, it becomes clear to Mason that forces beyond his comprehension are at work, and have their sights set on his father.
Fuelled by the fear of God, the film pins the divine’s all encompassing power as the ultimate threat to mankind, somewhat subverting standard exorcism narratives that tend to favour demonic possession over ecclesiastic exorcisms. Although this holy imposition is an interesting take, the film struggles to say anything more with this genre flip than ‘imagine if God was actually the bad guy’.
Mark O’Brien is a wonderful lead. Having previously starred in hits such as Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival (2013) and Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin’s 2019 horror-comedy Ready or Not, O’Brien certainly has the chops to take centre stage in a feature of his own. Supported by Jacqueline Byers as the exorcist’s childhood companion Tanis Green, Shadow of God is predominantly graced with a collectively strong ensemble of actors. Unfortunately, Johnston’s performance as the newly-reanimated Angus leaves much to be desired. Stilted and dazed, this performance is not so much undead as unenthused and out of place, especially when the actor’s fellow leads are putting in such a shift.
Shadow of God initially delivers a compelling narrative, paced to allow the audience room to breathe while the plot and characters ground themselves. However, it loses momentum before the film even hits the halfway mark, divulging its twists and the film’s endgame over a matter of minutes in a series of entirely unsubtle ramblings from a delirious Angus. An eerie and tense story becomes self explanatory, force-feeding the audience plotpoint after plotpoint through stilted splutters of dialogue that throw ‘show don’t tell’ out the window.
The film features some interesting imagery, courtesy of cinematographer David Baron and production designer Myron Hyrak. It is objectively well shot, however, some of the most experimental scenes and shots feel a little stilted—as if the filmmakers are trying to upsell a film that might not have too much going for it. These more inventive moments are certainly intriguing, yet ultimately feel fairly purposeless and out of place when it comes to the shocking mundanity of this narrative.
This somewhat ambitious approach is not exactly mirrored in the film’s editing. It’s so poor as to be distracting, and is a key reason that the story is so hard to take seriously at all. A good cast and well shot scenes can only go so far when they are haphazardly slapped together.
The editing goes hand in hand with the film’s use of visual effects. Powerpoint-esque, the VFX are the final nail in this horror flick’s coffin. They are genuinely hilarious, and it is such a shame. It is hard to find any sense of fear or intrigue in the man possessed by the spirit of God when his face looks like it’s had some 2010s galaxy print leggings superimposed onto it. In one scene, we see the presence thrash around the room, taking the lives of those caught in its path. Far less than a rapturous threat, the thing looks like flubber bouncing around Brainard’s lab. The visual effects are simply goofy, especially when many of the feature’s most climactic moments are so heavily dependent on these post-production missteps.
On a contrasting note, the practical effects featured on-and-off are inoffensive and well executed. The small snippets of gore work well to ground the film in its genre, and add a needed element of genuine unease amongst the ungodly farce of digital effects that undermine the film’s potential.
The Verdict
Shadow of God is faced with a myriad of issues that even stellar performances are, unfortunately, unable to overshadow. Is the film worth a watch if you’ve got some time to kill? Sure. But is it worth seeking out Shadow of God for a damn good scare?
God no.
Words by Jess Parker
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