The Gathering (2002, dir:
Brian
Gilbert; writer: Anthony Horowitz; cast: Christina
Ricci, Ioan Gruffudd, Stephen Dillane, Kerry Fox, Simon
Russell Beale, Robert Hardey)
A
young American, Cassie (Christina Ricci), is hit by a car in rural
England. The distraught driver (Kerry Fox), calls for help and
later takes Cassie into her home to help her recuperate. Cassie is
in pretty good shape, though she has no memory of her identity.
She also notices strange people occasionally staring at her in
the streets. Why?
Meanwhile, Simon (Stephen Dillane), the man of the family that
Cassie is staying with, is studying
a recently excavated, early Christian church. But why was it
buried in the first place? To hide some evil?
The Gathering is a supernatural horror tale about the lookiloos who witnessed Christ's
crucifixion. Their ghosts are now they are condemned to walk the Earth forever,
lookiloos to every human tragedy. They must show up, and watch and
stare.
It's a creepy premise, unoriginal in its broad strokes, but
original in the details.
The Gathering evokes
The Mothman Prophecies, a fine horror film about the mysterious "mothman" who
appears in locales that are soon to experience tragedy.
The Gathering also has shades of
Ray Bradbury's "The Crowd."
But the specifics of
The Gathering -- tying its creepy crowd to
Christ's crucifixion -- are original. The photography is
beautiful. And there are some good shocks.
I've seen lots of jarring car accidents in horror films (e.g.,
The Descent, Devil, some of the
Final Destination films, and 1983's
Australian
Stage Fright), and
The Gathering delivers on that score.
Actually, it has two car accident scenes. Car accidents have
become a horror film cliché, but they're well done here, so no
complaints.
The ending is surprising, though hardcore horror fans might see it
coming. I had guessed that it was one of several possible
outcomes. But again, the ending's final revelation is well staged,
so even if you saw it coming, it's still jarring to witness.
Altogether,
The Gathering is a creepy film, with some nice shocks and
unexpected twists. A good choice if you're in the mood for
suspenseful, conspiratorial, theological horror.
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