The Shrine

As the years have passed onward for me I find myself filling my dripping horror platter from places such as older films, foreign, and independents much more than anything in the mainstream as of late. The Shrine is a rare and raw piece of celluloid that can be laid at the altar of good films at a time when most are thrown out back for the diseased dogs to eat. It's true there are some things in the movie worth correcting but as it was once said "no work of art is ever completed, only abandoned." To overly-critique this movie is to focus on all that we would like to have instead of all that is before us which is a movie worth watching and deserving of money that's becoming more difficult to earn these days.

The Shrine is set in a modern time yet pre-industrialized Eastern European town where food and supplies are produced, not bought. The xenophobic townspeople are more concerned with making do and being left alone than for the modern conveniences of the first-world mega-nations. This film is about what happens when overly curious, intrusive Americans march onward into this set aside village and the consequences for the modern not paying homage to the ancient traditions of others in this surreal, mysterious hamlet.

The main characters are not to be respected though you may find yourself feeling sympathy for them. They are arrogant, disrespectful, and rude. As their fate becomes known to you the vague thought of "you asked for it" begins to prevail and not with a sense of remorse. The director clearly has some political opinions yearning to be expressed but it's not revealing unless truly examined.

Eastern Europe with their olden, gothic histories is a birthing chamber for horror yet untapped by most American filmakers perhaps because most have such a limited understanding of how movies should be made; meaning for effect, not money. This director had a vision for this film's potential and that is not only clearly evident while watching, but appreciated.

While viewing this piece, try not to obsess with the trivial shortcomings that this film may express yet focus on what this movie is, a wonderful piece that deserves recognition and praise.

Director Jon Knautz's 'THE SHRINE' has a great premise in its first thirty minutes and then becomes bogged down by too many ideas thrown up at the audience. Trying to find a lost colleague, a trio of friends trace his vanishing to a remote village in a superstitious Polish countryside and become embroiled in town rituals and sacrifices all blown out the window by the films surprise denouement. The acting is first rate, the photography is a hommage to the great gothic sixties Euro-horrors of Mario Bava , but is ultimately let down by its off the wall climax which I won't spoil for first time viewers who might like this sort of thing. Director Knautz, however, shows great promise in becoming a first rate Horror director by utilizing his material to the hilt incorporating electrifying shocks and quick cuts to his set pieces. All in all, not a bad way to spend a spooky midnight viewing with friends.

Probably the best way to go into a flick like The Shrine is knowing as little about it as possible. Reviewers face a two-edged sword; I think it's recommendable, but if I try to say why, I risk taking the edge off the film's effectiveness. Even saying something as innocent as the film went in a different direction than I thought it would may tip off intelligent horror fans to discard their first impression of the onscreen events and begin extrapolating as to what other explanations are possible.

So I'll try to keep it short. Three American journalists go to Poland to find out what happened to a missing backpacker whom the audience already knows has met with a sad end. Before they know it, they've repeated his mistakes, and those who took care of the backpacker are ready to make sure the journalists pay the full price for their trespasses.

What separates this movie from scores of others which begin in similar ways are the little touches the filmmakers add. One of the most effective is that when the journalists arrive in the backwater village in Poland, most of the residents speak only Polish, rather than resorting to the silly idea that English is so universal that everyone must know it. Of those who do speak it, there are plausible enough reasons why, and I respect the director for granting the audience a measure of intelligence to be able to follow along without holding our hand the entire way and subtitling the foreign language dialog. Another is the extreme creepiness of the encounter with 'the shrine' itself. I found it very unnerving.

Combine the deft plotting with competent acting, as well as the other small touches, and the deficencies in the film seem minor or invisible. Keep your expectations reasonable and chances are you will find this a nice turn from your average horror film.