Tags
1990's, Gabriel Byrne, Horror, Jonathan Pryce, Nia Long, Patricia Arquette, Rupert Wainwright, Stigmata, Thriller
Film Title
Stigmata
Director
Rupert Wainwright
Starring
- Patricia Arquette as Frankie Page
- Gabriel Byrne as Father Andrew Kiernan
- Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Daniel Houseman
- Nia Long as Donna
A cross between a horror with heavy religious overtones and a thriller questioning the teachings of Catholicism, Stigmata emerges as a flashy, creepy film filled with striking imagery and thumping soundtrack. Yes, there may be inconsistencies and a few flaws, but Stigmata on the whole generally effective and disquieting for most of its duration that leaves with a few questions.
Frankie Page is a nonchalant party girl and hairdresser in Pittsburgh. She is the kind of person who lives for the moment. Yet after she receives a gift of rosary beads from her mother, she experiences the first of the five wounds of stigmata, which are the wounds suffered by Christ on the crucifix. This unexplained phenomena appears to have occurred because of the arrival of the beads, which belonged to a devout and recently deceased priest. Terrified by this, Frankie doesn’t know what to do and how to escape. Father Andrew Kiernan, a recently ordained priest who also has history in science and travels the world debunking supposed holy miracles, is sent to investigate the unusual case. It is interesting that he should be sent because he was present at the church were the original owner of the rosary beads died and a statue of the Virgin Mary begin to weep blood. One he arrives in Pittsburgh, he is initially dismissive because Frankie is an atheist and most stigmatics are deeply religious people of immense faith. Yet as Andrew digs deeper into the case and Frankie’s condition worsens with every injury inflicted, complete with some sort of possession that talks in a dead language not used for centuries, he sees that Frankie is actually channeling something much more dangerous and questionable. These findings could have dark implications for the church and shake their very foundations to the core. And while Andrew is somewhat more open-minded with his beliefs and is a lot more concerned with saving Frankie’s life, his superior Cardinal Daniel Houseman, is prepared to resort to the darkest acts in order to keep these findings from being revealed.
I’ve read that upon release Stigmata was lambasted by critics as being a shallow, style over substance and exploitative film. I personally think that those criticisms are more than a little harsh, though sometimes the style does overpower the story. But what style and imagery it is with scenes overlapping, slickly executed cut backs and forth and religious liturgy taking centre stage in a style reminiscent of a music video. At least Stigmata still has a story that pushes many buttons on an interest level to back up such strong visual impact. And though Stigmata is very much a horror film that can be very unnerving, clearly witnessed in the harrowing scenes of Frankie suffering the titular injuries in gruesome detail, there is a mystery angle about the history of religion and there possibly being something else to say. It must be said that there are inconsistencies with this and sometimes it comes off as a bit illogical, but for me the mystery angle didn’t buckle under these flaws and did leave me questioning things. An unusual but highly appropriate score and soundtrack combine electronic beats, hard rock and whispering chorus to capture the melding of ancient religion with a contemporary host.
Patricia Arquette is an excellent choice for the role of Frankie. Bringing in the beginning a humour and no cares attitude to her as she parties a lot, she successfully incorporates a sense of disbelief, pain and vulnerability once Frankie becomes afflicted with Stigmata. The part is made all the better because of Arquette being in the role and making Frankie a sympathetic character going through unimaginable horror. Gabriel Byrne is well cast as Father Andrew, whose history as a scientist often clashes with the more spiritual around him. There is a sense of grave concern that Byrne invokes Andrew with as his main concern becomes saving Frankie from death as the wounds get worse and her health declines. Jonathan Pryce brings authoritative menace to the part of the corrupt cardinal intent on keeping the message from Frankie deeply buried away from anyone. Nia Long, on the other hand, is wasted as one of Frankie’s friends.
So if you can forgive a few lulls and inconsistencies, Stigmata is an eerie, stylish horror/thriller.
beetleypete said:
Very good review mate, and stylishly written too.
Any film dealing with religion is always going to have inconsistencies and flaws, after all, religion is pretty much riddled with those! In my opinion, this is one of the better films of this type, and elevated above the dross by the fine cast, who manage to take their roles seriously, throughout. I included a much shorter (and drier) look at it on my own post here.
https://beetleypete.wordpress.com/2013/02/24/some-horror-films/
My DVD copy has an alternative ending too. So if you didn’t like how it turned out, you can change the result!
Best wishes, Pete.
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vinnieh said:
It is one of the better horror films with religion as a backdrop. I saw your dry look at it a while back Pete nice work. And thanks for describing my writing as stylish.
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beetleypete said:
Cheers, V. By ‘dry’, I meant just that. Not dry in a humorous way, and much less interesting than your review!
When you aren’t writing about arses, your writing is always ‘stylish’ mate! 🙂
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vinnieh said:
Don’t do yourself down Pete, your reviews are always intriguing and well done. Haha, I know you’re not a fan of my bum posts.
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beetleypete said:
Only teasing mate. Write as many bum posts as you want. Have fun!
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vinnieh said:
They seem to be very popular and to be honest, who doesn’t like a nice pair of buttocks?
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
This isn’t one of my favorite movies, but I also didn’t think it was as bad as critics made it out to be. Great review Vinnie!
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vinnieh said:
I think critics can at times jump on the bandwagon of hating a movie just because other people don’t like it.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
So True!
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vinnieh said:
I think it can be really unfair on a movie as it should be your opinion rather than the mass one.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Absolutely true.
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vinnieh said:
I always believe we should form our own opinions rather than just going along with the crowd.
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wwwpalfitness said:
Reblogged this on wwwpalfitness.
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Mario said:
Nice, I’d forgotten about this film. I remember seeing the trailer although I’m not sure I’ve actually watched it.
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vinnieh said:
I’d advise watching it Mario.
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SLIP/THROUGH - Dan said:
Good review of a slightly uneven movie. I like your analysis here. I also liked the visual style of Stigmata. Like you said, it’s got a music video vibe. Sure, the story is silly, it’s a horror movie. Those critics, eh. If you expect good scares and intriguing religious mystery, you’ll enjoy yourself. I liked Arquette here too, but Byrne was a little stiff. I think this caught on with home video, but still did well at the box office.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks, there is an unevenness to the film as you pointed out. I feel that is does have that music video vibe of cutting to the music in the background and the visual trickery.
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SLIP/THROUGH - Dan said:
Deffo… and that flashy style works well here… especially in horror genre
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vinnieh said:
The film really benefits from the style that’s for sure.
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filmfunkel said:
Definite guilty pleasure and you’re right that it feels like a music video at times. Arquette really was the perfect choice. I always find her chemistry with Byrne fascinating.
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vinnieh said:
It’s got all those frenetic cuts, flashes of light and a whole lot of symbolism that always bring to mind a sort of extended music video.
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filmfunkel said:
And cuts with the religious imagery seem kinda subliminal. Always wonder if they have consultants tossing things into the mix. Still cool though. 🙂
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vinnieh said:
I always find subliminal imagery interesting.
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abbiosbiston said:
This sounds great! Why haven’t I ever seen it? Lol!
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vinnieh said:
Be sure to tell me what you thought of it.
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emmakwall said:
I need to watch this again, this was one of those ‘childhood movies’ me and my friends rented out a lot. It’s pretty creepy though and Gabriel Byrne is very handsome 🙂
GREAT review Vinnie.
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vinnieh said:
Oh you’re a fan of Byrne then?
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Melanie (DoesItEvenMatterWhoIReallyAm?) said:
I love this movie! I need to watch it again…
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vinnieh said:
Especially at this time of year with Halloween approaching.
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Melanie (DoesItEvenMatterWhoIReallyAm?) said:
Exactly!
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vinnieh said:
We all need a few spooky movies.
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Melanie (DoesItEvenMatterWhoIReallyAm?) said:
Totally!
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vinnieh said:
And I love me some horror.
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Melanie (DoesItEvenMatterWhoIReallyAm?) said:
Oh so do I!
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vinnieh said:
You’re a sassy horror fiend.
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simondaniel27 said:
One of my all time favorites.
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vinnieh said:
It certainly makes an impact.
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maddylovesherclassicfilms said:
Good review. Not seen this one for ages. It wasn’t really my cup of tea, but I think it was well done and was quite creepy. I like how the Priest becomes more interested in Frankie’s well being and trying to protect her, than about what is manifesting. A pretty terrifying experience for that poor woman.
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vinnieh said:
I must thank you for looking through my older reviews, Maddy. It was a pretty intense film, anytime you put religion and horror together, the results are usually explosive. There have been real life cases where people have exhibited the titular wounds.
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maddylovesherclassicfilms said:
Your welcome. I love looking through older posts on blogs. So many reviews out there that deserve more comments. Yeah. I’ve heard of the real life cases too. Weird and unexplainable. Imagine how scary it would be to have that happen.
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vinnieh said:
I will the same with your blog when I get the chance. It must be a terrifying experience. One of those things that makes you question how much science can really explain.
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