CHARISMATA *** UK 2017 Dir: Andy Collier & Toor Mian 96 min
When police detective Rebecca Faraway (Sarah Beck Mather) and her partner Eli Smith (Andonis Anthony) are assigned to investigate a spate of ritualistic murders they find themselves hunting for a satanic serial killer. As they get closer to the perpetrator Rebecca’s sanity comes into question as the killer tries to get inside her already disturbed mind.
This psychological horror/thriller does have a lot going for it. There are plenty of gruesome scenes, red herrings and a subtle amount of supernatural elements yet some how it seems to lack a little in places. This seems to mostly be due to the script. Pretty much all of the characters are rather unlikable, with all except the female lead police officer, falling into the usual stereotype of the bumbling, cockney copper. Mather’s character comes across as a heartless bitch with a lot of baggage that is only briefly hinted at so you don’t entirely get on her side straight away. It’s the same story with the killers character too, it is all a bit predictable. Even though they put in the red herrings you can see it all unfolding a mile off. I do have to admit to not expecting it to go in direction it did at the end though so I’ve got to hand it to them on that one. It certainly wasn’t what I was expecting. Quite a few people have said that the ending was the worst part to it but I have to admit to rather enjoying it. It does have a constant horror element throughout be it graphic shots of mutilated, decomposing bodies and blood to hallucinations and Satanism it tried very hard and I would say does pull it off quite nicely. It is well shot and the acting is proficient but it is not a stand out movie due to its script issues.
Review by Sarah Budd