THE CONVENT (HERETIKS) (2018)

Studio:      Vertical Entertainment
Director:    Paul Hyett
Writer:      Paul Hyett, Conal Palmer, Gregory Blair
Producer:  Marcia Do Vales, Michael Riley
Stars:     Hannah Arterton, Clare Higgins, Sarah Malin, Rosie Day, Sian Breckin, Emily Tucker, Beth Walker, Ania Marson, Michael Ironside

Review Score:

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Summary:

In 17th-century England, a young woman wrongfully accused of necromancy uncovers a demonic conspiracy at a secretive convent.

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

England 1619 – At the Sisters of the Eucharist convent, young nun Sister Margaret Aquinas leads a group of novices that includes Sister Elizabeth in a blood sacrifice intended to conjure a diabolical entity. Sister Margaret explains that the demonic confrontation will test their faith. The young novice selected to be the seer becomes possessed by the entity and slaughters several nuns. Before the possessed novice can kill Elizabeth, the entity leaves her to possess the dead bodies. The dead bodies attack the novice, cursing her to roam the priory in perpetuity. Elizabeth leaves the order while Sister Margaret eventually becomes the convent’s Reverend Mother.

40 Years Later – The Magistrate sentences accused witch Persephone to death for necromancy. Reverend Mother interrupts the proceeding to blackmail the magistrate into allowing Persephone to serve her penance by joining the convent instead.

At the priory, Persephone meets Reverend Mother’s nuns Sister Anna Francis, Sister Lucilla, and Sister Bernadine. Persephone also meets fellow novices Catherine, Adela, and Emeline.

Sister Anna Francis warns Persephone that outside contact is forbidden. While working in the garden, Persephone meets Ellis, a villager who had been romancing Catherine and is concerned about Catherine’s wellbeing.

As punishment for speaking to Ellis, Reverend Mother has Persephone repeatedly doused with water. While confined to a cell, Persephone feels a ghostly hand touch her shoulder. Meanwhile, Elizabeth warns Ellis to stay away from the convent.

Catherine tells Persephone about her romance with Ellis. Catherine adds that Ellis told her something horrible happened at the convent many years ago and now the place is damned.

Persephone is tasked with caring for dying sisters afflicted with a strange fever. A blind patient vomits blood and screams in Persephone’s direction before dying.

Catherine and Persephone tell each other about their former families. Persephone recounts how she had a dream about her family’s barn burning down. The next day, Persephone’s mother Judith died in a barn fire. Based on her predictive vision, Persephone’s father William blamed her for the death while the village branded her a witch.

Persephone encounters the demonic entity two more times. Reverend Mother confines Persephone again for breaking curfew.

Ellis returns to tell Persephone that Elizabeth warned him about the convent. Persephone agrees that something evil lurks within the priory’s walls. Ellis contends that he wants Catherine and Persephone to escape to safety and hands Persephone a note to give to Catherine.

Catherine is caned when Reverend Mother finds her with Ellis’ note. At the same time, Sister Bernadine pulls out her eyes and dies when she becomes possessed while praying to God.

After discovering that Reverend Mother kept Bernadine’s eyes, Persephone warns Catherine, Adela, and Emeline about the demonic entity. Persephone also tells them about her predictive visions while advising that they need to escape. Adela refuses.

Sister Anna Francis punishes Emeline by confining her to a dark room. The entity possesses Emeline and compels her to stab herself. Persephone experiences a vision of Emeline’s death.

Ellis tracks down Elizabeth to learn more about what she knows. Elizabeth recounts what happened in 1619.

Adela finally comes to believe Persephone’s warnings after witnessing Reverend Mother burning Bernadine’s eyes. Persephone and Adela subsequently try escaping the convent with Catherine, who is now afflicted with the mysterious fever.

Just as the three women are about to exit the priory, Catherine becomes possessed. Catherine stabs her own throat and dies.

Reverend Mother explains that she burned Bernadine’s eyes because she wanted to remove the nun’s visions. Reverend Mother continues explaining that the convent’s women are damned and the only way they can get into heaven is through sacrifice.

Bernadine’s body resurrects to confront Reverend Mother, Sister Anna Francis, Sister Lucilla, Persephone, and Adela. Bernadine tears out Sister Anna Francis’ eyes. Reverend Mother stabs Bernadine through her head from behind.

Another resurrected nun attacks Ellis outside the convent. Ellis viciously beats the reanimated nun to death.

Emeline, now resurrected and possessed, kills Adela. Emeline attacks Persephone, but Sister Lucilla rescues her. However, another resurrected nun kills Sister Lucilla.

Ellis rescues Persephone. The two of them begin looking for a way out of the convent through a secret passage in the chapel.

Elizabeth confronts Reverend Mother. Elizabeth contends that Reverend Mother’s heresy, which advised embracing the diabolical entity, condemned all of them to Hell. Reverend Mother knocks Elizabeth unconscious.

Resurrected and possessed, Catherine kills Ellis before he can escape with Persephone. Reverend Mother enters the chapel and instructs Persephone to embrace Catherine. Having recovered, Elizabeth sets Reverend Mother on fire. Persephone pushes Catherine into the flames as they begin spreading. Persephone decapitates Emeline while escaping the burning convent.

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Review:

“The Convent,” which premiered at FrightFest London in 2018 under the title “Heretiks” and is not to be confused with Mike Mendez’s 2000 demonic nun romp “The Convent” starring Adrienne Barbeau, takes place in 17th-century England. Apparently Michael Ironside’s script was missing that page. Either because his single scene lasts less than three minutes or because he is too entrenched in the “pull a paycheck and bounce before lunch” stage of his cameo career, Ironside amusingly doesn’t bother inconveniencing himself with something as essential as a British accent. Staying seated and no doubt checking his watch between takes, Ironside simply chews over odd dialogue in his trademark gravel gargle as a sleepy magistrate sentencing accused witch Persephone to death for necromancy.

Refusing to be outmatched in the grim-faced gravitas department, Clare Higgins of “Hellraiser” strides sternly into court as the Reverend Mother representing a nearby convent. Higgins puts in a coolly contemptuous performance as the predictably wicked woman wrapped tightly in nun’s robes, although let’s face it. If you’ve seen one Mother Superior stereotype in a horror movie, you really have seen them all.

By a bizarre bit of blackmail, Reverend Mother succeeds in commuting Persephone’s death sentence into a penance of servitude at her priory. Reverend Mother’s convent has a whispered history among gossipy villagers as a place where something horrible happened forty years ago. Whatever it was, an evil entity now stalks its cobbled corridors, and Persephone’s psychic sensitivity makes her susceptible to haunting visions while within its walls.

The convent is the kind of location low-budget chillers dream of securing. So much so that I wouldn’t be surprised to find the script was written specifically to take advantage of the building’s availability. Mossy stone walls, wooden doors creaking on iron hinges, and dustily dark hallways do the heavy lifting of manufacturing mood. Candlelight, lightning flashes, and creeping camera movements augment inherent eeriness with the usual assortment of tried-and-true cinematic techniques. It’s neither original nor particularly exceptional, but director Paul Hyett’s “get the job done” approach adequately establishes appropriate atmosphere.

Persephone meets many women at the convent, making a notepad a worthwhile investment for keeping the names among the two factions straight. Reverend Mother’s team of knuckle-rappers consists of sisters Anna Francis, Bernadine, and Lucilla. Persephone’s fellow novices of the “look down and frown frequently” variety include Catherine, Adela, and Emeline. Would-be suitor Ellis and “Old Lady Exposition” Elizabeth round out the roster of too many people playing a 77-minute game.

The game in question is a boilerplate “what’s really going on?” mystery only Persephone can solve. “The Convent” needlessly confounds its backstory with a lot of vaguely explained claptrap. Said claptrap includes Reverend Mother conjuring a demon to intentionally test their order’s faith, an indeterminate illness afflicting sisters with blindness and bloody vomit, and several other shady motivations of suspect value. Once all of the pieces are put together, the big picture doesn’t form a fully distinct image.

For most of its breezy runtime, “The Convent” coasts on cryptic conversations and gloomy photography, allowing suggestive ambiance to make up a majority of the movie’s slight fright factor. Not long after a last breath of additional explanation pivots into the third act, “The Convent” seemingly says “to Hell with it,” abandoning attempts at a nuanced narrative in favor of a finale that suddenly goes into full bore horror mode. It’s as though producers sensed the script wasn’t getting where it wanted to go as a patient period piece anyway, so they opted to try a more commercial detour by loading up on eyeless demons, caved-in skulls, glowing eye CGI, and gory spectacle instead.

Perhaps the film had more ambitious plans at some point. End credits list a wide range of characters including Jeremiah, Constance, Agnes, Christabel, Ernis, Henry, Rowan, Benedict, Mirabelle, Godiva, Millicent, Guinevere, Alice, Joan, Audric, Agatha, and Annalette. Unless every extra who appears in the background of an establishing shot has a scripted name, I have no idea who any of these people are. Whoever they were intended to be, “The Convent” becomes content with coming across the finish line as a passable spooker of fleeting resonance mildly improved by above average execution.

As for how anyone’s memory will distinguish “The Convent” down the line from “St. Agatha” (review here), “The Devil’s Doorway” (review here), “Welcome to Mercy” (review here), “The Crucifixion” (review here), or any number of other nun-related thrillers, I have no idea. Under different circumstances, I might have said, “the one with Michael Ironside,“ except even he has probably forgotten he is in this.

Review Score: 50

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