Consecration

Both bloody and/or creepy thrills are few and far between, but striking images and standout performances keep it cohesive.

This high-concept horror too easily crosses over from charmingly erratic to nonsensical.

Though it does hint at the toxicity and conspiratorial nature of a powerful institution, it never finds root in overt observations. It handles too many threads—childhood tragedy, murder cover-ups, clandestine spiritual rites—without the dexterity to effectively weave them together.

The meager surprises it does contain aren’t particularly effective, considering that early clues suggest only one possible twist and the proceedings do little to mask it.

In Consecration Jena Malone doesn’t just sport a casually impeccable British accent. She becomes British — her mood and manners, the way she rocks the sweaters and bangs and debonair politeness. She creates a compelling character, only to see the film’s director, Christopher Smith, swallow her up in all the ecclesiastical gothic malarkey.

The plot, as a result, can’t quite find its momentum; it doesn’t help that most of the film’s scares fall flat on a visual and technical level.

The film proves to be just another retread of “spooky” Catholic-themed horror tropes without adding any insight or originality to the subgenre.

While Jena Malone's presence in the film is certainly a highlight, the overall viewing experience left much to be desired. While the concept shows some promise in terms of originality, its execution fails to fully captivate and engage the audience. Despite the film's visually striking still images, the final product ultimately proves to be less effective and impactful than anticipated. While the film's flaws are not irredeemable, they are significant enough to prevent it from being truly appealing or satisfying on a deeper level.

Creepy and bloody convent movie. I was a little confused throughout and don't think the flow was very good in this one. Some good scenes but overall pretty tame.

Even with the presence of Jena Malone, and despite the fact that this story tackles some more serious themes than one would have expected at first glance, Consecration succumbs to almost all the conventions of the horror genre, and as a result, any potential that could have been developed gets buried by the stupidity of cramming it with scares that fail to provide any substance to the matter. Consecration is a slow burner that had the scope to be a more creative and eerie effort like the recent Saint Maud and its religious symbolism and allegories, but when you see the director's credits, you understand why it went down the simplest road.