VOD from the Dead - GODFORSAKEN (2020)
Religion has always been mysterious to me. My parents got divorced when I was around 5 years old, and my mother raised me under the Jewish faith while my father is a Roman Catholic. Religion was not the reason for their separation as they both wavered between casual to occasional participants in their chosen faiths. Since I lived with my mother most of the time I would attend synagogue on Fridays up until after my Bar Mitzvah and at the age of 15, I realized that religion just wasn’t for me. Over the years I’ve held different views on religion ranging from negative to semi-positive largely basing my opinions on the ways in which religion is often used as a method of exclusion and feigning superiority. When I met my wife and her family I was able to see how religion played such a huge role in their lives, much more than it did in mine, and was able to appreciate the communal benefits that organized religion can provide. It didn’t inspire me to change my opinion, but it did open my understanding up to see some of the positives that before I perceived as negatives. My wife is not devout, and we both agree that we would consider ourselves spiritual without having any firmly held beliefs exclusive to any particular religion. For example, I don’t dismiss the idea that there could be a God, but I don’t subscribe to the idea that God has any influence over how things happen. It’s the same reason I’ve always scoffed at the idea of fate and destiny since I tend to prescribe outcomes in association with effort, time, place, and a bit of luck/coincidence. My perspective on religion has also influenced in some way my preference in horror films. Religious horror is a genre I enjoy, but I do not actively seek them out. More often than not, they tend to feel very similar to me in the same way people think all kinds of (insert genre of music here) sound the same. In GODFORSAKEN, writer/director ALI AKBAR AKBAR KAMAL explores the idea of miraculous occurrences that can shift our thinking and belief systems around religion through the sub-genre of found-footage. Does GODFORSAKEN stand out in the dually crowded genres of religious horror and found footage, or is this just more of the same trappings we’ve seen and heard before?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
An indie filmmaker visits his hometown to attend a childhood friend’s funeral. When she seemingly rises from the dead during her wake with mysterious abilities, he and a group of friends begin to investigate and record the town’s experience as they try to get to the truth. Some claim she is God; some claim she is pure evil. They soon learn that not all miracles are holy.
HOW IS IT?
Canada does it again! I don’t know what is going on with our great neighbors to the north, but they have been churning out a slew of great horror flicks over the past few years. In my short time writing for MACABRE DAILY, I’ve had the chance to watch a lot of indie horror movies, and overwhelmingly the best ones have come from Canada and I’m happy to report that GODFORSAKEN keeps that sentiment going. On paper, a found footage religious horror film is somewhere near the bottom-middle of my preferred tastes. Between the two genres, there has not been a lot of innovation and that can sometimes make the output feel bland and repetitive and GODFORSAKEN is anything but. The opening 7 or so minutes of this film set a tone that practically doesn’t relent throughout the entire 76-minute runtime. While 76-minutes may seem short in comparison to the length of most films today, it is the perfect amount of time for what writer/director ALI AKBAR AKBAR KAMAL is trying to accomplish. The setup described in the synopsis covers the first third of the film, and while all of this may sound like the film would feel rushed it is in fact perfectly paced. Once the documentary crew shows up we immediately are exposed to the aftermath of the miraculous event of a woman coming back from the dead we are thrust into the lives of characters who all react in a surprisingly authentic way. There are skeptics, true believers, and a large majority of folks who are somewhere in between. As the documentary crew begins interviewing folks around the town, you get the sense that this could all actually be happening because of how genuine all the performances are. Some characters, like Chad’s (CHAD TAILOR) friend Chris (CHRIS KELLY) to Chad’s mom Nicole (NICOLE FAIRBAIRN), stand out given how great their performances are. Chris and Nicole both deliver some chilling performances that elevate this above and beyond your standard horror fare.
Another thing that really works for me is that you don’t necessarily know where the story is going, which is impressive considering that both religious horror and found footage films have a tendency to become somewhat predictable if not handled well. There is a constant undercurrent of tension and unease even with the characters on-screen are bringing levity to things. One example happens early on in the film where the crew is sitting on the porch with Chris and all of sudden they start freaking out because they see the “zombie of Harriston” watching them. It’s a scene that makes great use of the found footage first-person POV perspective and then goes even further to surprise you by what happens next. It’s a testament to great filmmaking that with only a budget of $40,000 (CAD) this film packs more genuine suspense than similar films with budgets 10x the size. GODFORSAKEN feels like a big-budget film in parts largely because it uses the setting and the characters to project something grander than it seems, especially when it segues at the midway point where I literally wrote in my notes “holy shit” (pun intended. It’s hard to even talk about what happens after the first 20 minutes without giving away some of the delightful surprises the film has in store, and one scene, in particular, involving and priest in broad daylight is a masterclass in how a simple setup can deliver a big payoff if handled correctly. If this is the kind of movie ALI AKBAR AKBAR KAMAL can make for $40K, I can only wonder what he could do with more!
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that as much as I enjoyed GODFORSAKEN it may not be for everyone. If you have an adamant opposition to the found-footage aesthetic this may not change your mind, but if I can be any sort of proof I thoroughly enjoyed it despite how lukewarm I generally am with found footage. And even at a brisk 76-minutes, things do get a tad redundant towards the end of the film which may be a product of a major reveal happening a little over halfway through. These are small critiques that should not deter any viewer, and they had at best a marginal impact on my enjoyment of the film overall.
LAST RITES
GODFORSAKEN hits all the right spots to satisfy fans of found footage and religious horror, while carving out a path for itself that stands out largely due to it’s believable performances and unrelenting pace. Canada proves once again, they know how to do a lot with a little that goes a long way.
THE GORY DETAILS
Directed By
Written By
Starring
Where can you watch it?
GODFORSAKEN will premiere on the Terror Films Channel on March 25 followed by a worldwide digital release on April 8!
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