The Crucifixion (2017)

Be Careful What You Pray For….

Something that I’ve picked up on about the twin brothers of terror, Chad and Carey W. Hayes, is that their horror writing almost always falls into one of two categories: 1) dull but watchable and 2) downright chilling. The duo penned the remake of House Of Wax (2005), The Turning (2020), and The Reaping (2007), all of which were dull films, but watchable nonetheless. They also wrote The Conjuring (2013) and The Conjuring 2 (2016) which were downright chilling. Unfortunately for their 2017 effort, The Crucifixion, that film falls into the dull but watchable category.

The film is loosely based upon the real Tanacu Monastery exorcism of Maricica Irina Cornici that took place in 2005. According to officials, Cornici died as a result of an exorcism performed by Father Daniel Petre Corogeanu and four Orthodox nuns. In the film, a young nun, this one named Sister Adelina, is murdered during an attempted exorcism by Father Dimitru and a group of nuns as well, and a pesky, atheistic young reporter, Nicole, heads out to determine if the nun was murdered by a madman (Father Dimitru) or actually killed by a demonic force. She seeks out the help of a local priest, Father Anton, who resists her at first, but ultimately forms a strong friendship with her. As Nicole digs deeper into the story, she begins to have weird experiences and explicit dreams about Father Anton. Nicole continues to look for answers into the case of Sister Adelina, and the demon that possessed her now turns its interests toward Nicole. Who really killed Adelina? Will Father Anton give in to the flirtations of Nicole? Will Nicole have her faith restored? Watch The Crucifixion to find out!

Like I already mentioned, this film is dull but watchable. The story is decent and flows along nicely thanks to solid direction from Xavier Gens. Sophie Cookson stars as Nicole and she delivers a good performance. I also enjoyed Corneliu Ulici as Father Anton. Brittany Ashworth gave a grand performance as Sister Vaduva, Adelina’s roommate and close friend. The film also starred Ivan Gonzalez, Ozana Oancea, Florian Voicu, and Catalin Babluic, among others. Keep an eye open for Javier Botet as well. He appears in the film as “Faceless Man,” but he’s terrified you in a ton of other films including the recent The Last Voyage Of The Demeter.

If, like me, you haven’t been able to get out to the theaters to see The Nun 2, why not give The Crucifixion a look? It’s not part of The Conjuring universe, but it is penned by the hand of two of that universe’s best writers. It’s a chilly little flick that won’t necessarily scare you, but it will hold your attention.

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