Review: The Parish

I think what sticks with me the most about the upcoming horror flick The Parish is how little of it has actually stuck with me, despite me enjoying the watch. Does that make sense?

The story of a recently widowed woman and her daughter moving to a small town and falling under the influence of supernatural forces is a decent one. Lead actor Angela DiMarco does a solid job as the widow, bringing layers and strength to her character. Ditto veteran genre actor Bill Oberst Jr. as a priest who comes to her aid. And the film is well made.

But, despite the potential for scares and intensity, The Parish just sort of chugs along at a decent pace. There's no build up of tension heading into the final act, even with certain pieces of the supernatural puzzle revealed along the way. Things just fall into place, and get wrapped up in a neat little bow.

The fault lies with director David Hogan and editor Tony Tibbetts. All the material was there, it just needed to be cut better for pacing and excitement. There are a couple good moments involving a creepy janitor and a sinister nun, but not enough to add a real scare factor, which is too bad.

As a result, I gotta give The Parish a Bad. I liked it, but there's not enough here to bring me back again and again.

The Parish hits VOD and DVD March 16.

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