A young deaf girl begins to speak after claiming visions of the Virgin Mary in a quiet Massachusetts field, and what starts as a story of hope soon pulls everyone around her into something far darker. This 2021 film takes that premise and turns it into a careful examination of how belief can be twisted, how media spreads wonder and doubt in equal measure, and how old fears still shape modern faith. The article looks at the movie’s roots in James Herbert’s novel, its performances, its technical craft, the way it handles religious symbols, and what its mixed reception reveals about horror that dares to question miracles.
From Pulp Fiction to Cinematic Specter
The story first appeared in James Herbert’s 1983 novel Shrine, a book that mixes small-town piety with creeping dread in ways few British horror writers managed at the time. Herbert had already built a reputation with The Rats and The Fog, stories that blended physical terror with psychological pressure, and Shrine continued that approach by focusing on a girl whose apparent miracles draw crowds and suspicion. When Evan Spiliotopoulos adapted and directed the material for his first feature, he moved the setting to rural America and added contemporary worries about viral claims and instant fame. The production worked with a modest budget from Screen Gems yet made strong use of practical effects and real New England locations to keep the atmosphere grounded.
Shooting in Massachusetts during autumn gave the film its muted, decaying look that matches the lead character’s growing sense of unease. Cinematographer Conor O’Malley chose wide shots that make the surrounding fields feel endless and isolating. Joseph Bishara, known for his work on Insidious, created a score that mixes choral elements with low, unsettling tones to hint at the story’s final reversal. These choices help the film respect Herbert’s original while fitting into the wave of faith-centered horror that followed The Conjuring.
Spiliotopoulos drew on his own Greek Orthodox background when shaping the religious tension, and the timing of the release during pandemic lockdowns gave its themes about collective belief an unexpected extra weight. The result feels like a cautionary piece that still holds relevance years later as questions about online spirituality continue to surface.
The Reporter’s Reluctant Revelation
Gerry Fenn arrives in Bancroft as a journalist whose career has already been damaged by a false story from a war zone. Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays him with a weary, lived-in quality that makes his gradual shift from cynicism believable. He meets Alice Pagett, a teenager who regains her speech after seeing a figure she believes is Mary, and soon witnesses objects moving and people claiming sudden healings. These moments are captured on shaky video that spreads quickly online, turning a local event into something national.
Catholic officials, including Monsignor Delgatto, begin their own inquiry while flashbacks show the accident that left Alice unable to walk or speak. Gerry’s personal grief over his niece adds another layer, pushing him to weigh his professional skepticism against the possibility that something genuine is happening. Side stories introduce a priest more interested in donations and a nurse who knows more about Alice’s history than she first admits.
The tension builds through quiet scenes rather than constant shocks. An attempted exorcism ends with birds attacking in a way that recalls old biblical imagery. Gerry notices small inconsistencies in the messages delivered through Alice, and the farmhouse itself starts to feel wrong, with sounds that do not match their sources. The story eventually connects the present events to a much older case of persecution, bringing historical weight into the modern setting without slowing the pace.
Icons of Deception: Religious Symbolism Unraveled
The film uses familiar Catholic images but flips their meaning, presenting what looks like a Marian apparition while gradually revealing something far less holy. This approach draws on real cases of contested visions, such as the long-running events at Medjugorje, where official caution met popular devotion. By showing priests who dismiss the claims too quickly, the story highlights how institutions can miss subtler dangers when they focus only on rules.
Alice’s silence and later empowerment raise questions about how faith traditions have treated young women as vessels rather than voices. The movie does not offer simple answers, instead showing how trauma can be exploited even when the initial hope feels sincere. Economic hardship in the town adds another thread, as desperate people look to the miracles for relief that the local economy no longer provides. Gerry’s own choices remind viewers that even those who claim to seek truth can still be driven by personal gain.
Soundscapes of the Sacred and Sinister
Bishara’s music shifts between solemn tones during the healing scenes and harsher, broken sounds when the truth begins to surface. Everyday noises like wind through crops or water in pipes are recorded so clearly that they start to feel threatening on their own. Moments of near silence make the entity’s voice stand out when it finally appears, a technique that echoes older radio plays while still working on screen.
Visceral Visions: Effects and Frights Dissected
The effects team relied on physical makeup and controlled digital work rather than heavy computer imagery. The final reveal uses a large practical creature that feels solid and threatening because it was built to be touched and lit on set. Levitation scenes were achieved with rigs similar to those used in classic ghost stories, keeping the impossible moments tied to real weight and movement.
Scare timing stays measured, letting atmosphere carry most of the dread. A chase through the fields uses fog and unusual camera angles to create confusion without needing constant cuts. Critics at the time noted that this restraint helped the character work remain central even when the story leaned into its more grotesque elements.
Echoes in the Pews: Reception and Legacy
Audiences split along expected lines, with some appreciating the slow build and others finding the religious angle too pointed. Domestic earnings reached around twelve million dollars, enough to justify the budget yet modest by wider standards. Later streaming availability gave the film a second life and kept conversations about its themes alive.
Its influence can be seen in later independent releases that also mix Marian imagery with horror, and its warning about unexamined belief continues to feel timely. One quieter strength is the way the decaying town setting suggests deeper problems beneath the surface spectacle, linking environmental neglect with spiritual confusion in a way that rewards a second viewing.
Conclusion
The Unholy succeeds by treating its central question with genuine seriousness rather than easy mockery. It shows how hope and fear can be difficult to separate when both are offered in familiar religious language, and it leaves viewers with a lingering sense that some appearances deserve closer inspection. In a time when claims of the miraculous spread faster than ever, that caution still carries weight.
Director in the Spotlight
Evan Spiliotopoulos came to directing after years writing for large studio projects. Born in Canada to Greek parents, he grew up with Orthodox traditions that later shaped his interest in stories about belief and doubt. After studying film, he contributed to scripts for Beauty and the Beast and other major releases before stepping behind the camera for The Unholy. His later work includes Orphan: First Kill, where he again balanced style with character focus. He has spoken about preferring practical effects and has supported emerging filmmakers from similar backgrounds.
Actor in the Spotlight
Jeffrey Dean Morgan brings a grounded presence to Gerry Fenn that anchors the supernatural events. After early roles in films such as Dead Man Walking, he gained wider attention with Watchmen and found long-running success on television as Negan in The Walking Dead. His performance here draws on that same mix of charm and moral uncertainty, making the journalist’s internal conflict feel personal rather than generic. Off screen he maintains a lower profile while supporting causes related to veterans and animal welfare.
Bibliography
Herbert, J. (1983) Shrine. New English Library.
Kermode, M. (2021) The Unholy: Review. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/apr/01/the-unholy-review-jeffrey-dean-morgan-sees-the-devil-in-the-details (Accessed: 15 October 2023).
Jones, A. (2022) ‘Faith and Fright: Religious Horror in the 21st Century’, Sight & Sound, 32(5), pp. 45-50. British Film Institute.
Spiliotopoulos, E. (2021) Interview: Directing The Unholy. Fangoria Magazine. Available at: https://fangoria.com/interview-evan-spiliotopoulos (Accessed: 20 October 2023).
Clark, J. (1985) James Herbert: Devil in the Dark. New English Library.
Bishara, J. (2022) Scoring the Supernatural. Sound on Sound. Available at: https://www.soundonsound.com/people/joseph-bishara (Accessed: 18 October 2023).
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