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Terry Malloy looks at STIGMATA
Hey folks, Harry here. Our next contender, Terry Malloy, has written up his view on STIGMATA, a film he didn't enjoy much at all. Personally I've been looking forward to this one for quite some time now, those trailers look good, so I don't know quite what to think about this one just yet. We'll have to hold on and see what others have thought as well.
Got a letter from MGM to catch a screening of the upcoming horror movie "Stigmata" So I drove with my significant other far away to a big
city to spend a couple of days vacationing and shopping.
The first day in, we caught the Blair Witch Project and MAN, was that good. It was so good that I had good vibes going into Stigmata.
Boy were those vibes shot to hell!!!!!!!!!
The writer must not like Catholicism because he pretty much bashes it with a big ugly club. My wife being Catholic, it kinda got to her. Me
being atheist, I didn't give a damn.
There a few spoilers here but trust me you won't give a damn after you've seen the movie.
The movie is about young Patricia Arquette who is 23 years old, works at a beauty salon, goes to clubs, has a black girlfriend with pink hair
(who disappears half way through the movie), has one of those apartments that can only be dreamt up in a movie............Let me talk a little about
this apartment.
It's one of these apartments with water leaks EVERYWHERE. I mean this building should be condemned, the ceiling should've caved in by
now, but you see the drips are supposed to give this eerie effect I guess. Oh did I mention that she's also a candle freak. Yeah, she has
candles in every room. And I don't mean a couple of candle, NO i'm talking about 100 candles surrounding her bathtub, lit 24 hours a day, by
her bed, by her glow in the dark neon recliner?..........I can't go on.
Well her mother sends her this rosary that just happened to have been freshly stolen off of a freshly dead Catholic priest that she just
happened to have freshly walked by as he sold it to some entrepreneur on the streets of Brazil I think. Suddenly someone invisible starts
spiking invisible nails through her hands, putting an invisible crown of thorns on her head, invisibly lashing her back.........and then (this is the
funny scene) spikes invisible nails through her feet to which they (meaning her and her new priest (boy)friend Gabriel Byrne who she tries to
seduce a bit too much) go to her apartment and he applies a little bit of alcohol or peroxide or whatever while they talk???
If someone spikes a nail through both of my feet ( I'm sorry an invisible nail) and I'm bleeding everywhere, please do not bring me to my house
to put some 32 cent peroxide on and expect me to have a coherent conversation with you. BRING ME TO THE HOSPITAL. Plus I don't think
I'll be walking anytime for a few weeks. But don't worry our brave little Patricia will be fine and walking before you know it. Because she's a
stigmata.
This movie just frustrates me. No logic. No horror unless the sight of nails being driven into flesh gets you off. No acting. No writing.
Characters come and go. By the end when it all comes together....the writing on the wall in her apartment, her demonic behavior, the head
Catholic priests running around trying to hide something....you think to yourself, why did she act that way at all? Why did she have to act like
a Linda Blair wannabe if she wasn't possessed by something evil? OH........because it's trying to masquerade as a horror movie........oh yeah
that's right.....and it's also saying that Catholicism is pure bologna....that'll make a lot of people happy.
I especially like the closing credits when it sums up the story by saying how in 1940something some people found written scripture that were
the closest thing to what Jesus Christ wrote or something like that. Then it says that the Catholic church has claimed it to be heresy because it
would ruin their religion. This is all interesting but I think I'd rather had seen it portrayed in a serious drama than as a blood and gore horror
movie. The message is all wrong filmmakers. It's kinda like praising women for being in the military at the end credits right after a movie where
one gets gangraped by fellow soldiers jealous of her achievement? And then of course she has to have sex with everyone above her so she
can move up the military ladder to get closer to her father's position so she can exact a revenge on him for covering up her horrendous rape?
And then murdering her off? HUH? Oh I'm sorry....that movie's about to make $100million. I better not say that.
Stick with Blair Witch for real horror.
Harry, if for some unknown reason you feel this review worthy of the public, please let me sign off as..
TERRY MALLOY
"I COULDA BEEN A CONTENDER"
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Stigmatics manifest surface wounds that look like someone drove a nail through 'em. It's not really a deep puncture. That may explain why she didn't need to be rushed to a hospital. But anyway...did this movie have any killer mammoths in it?
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Is it just me, or is this guy's review a rambling mess?
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What ever happened to the coolness that was Dean Keaton in the Usual Suspects? He tried to be Dartagnon...but although sortof fly drowned in the lameness of his lines. I sure hope his part in End of Days puts him back up where he belongs instead of trudging through the sludge he's be in lately...
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Stigmata not logical? And blair witch is?!!! let's see, we're going into some unknown woods, should we take a flare gun maybe?
Should we mark he trail back to the car? Should we take a cell phone?, A lap top? A frickin camera tripod?! That's just the start. It maybe would have been believeable if it was set in 1974 and not 1994. These kids would have to be totally stoned out of their minds not to take precautions. She even had that book on how to survive in the woods. Grade D. Bring on stigmata! I'm looking forward to that one. -
maybe that guy meant blair witch was scary in the "it's frightening that people can be so stupid" sense. maybe that part of the woods broadcasts electromagnetic signals that cancel out any attempts to use a radio or cel phone and that's why they didn't bring one. having done quite a bit of camping, I think it's pretty fucking dumb to not bring a radio, or did they? I forget. who cares, patricia arquette is a babe. so is rosanna.
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I saw an early test screening of this movie a few months ago. It sucked pretty hard back then, too. It doesn't sound like they fixed the particularly bad ending, either. Basically, as I can recall, (spoiler) some writing that Jesus personally wrote is found, and Jesus says god is everywhere, not just in a church. So the evil catholics want to destroy this scripture at all costs because people will abandon organized religion and the catholics will lose their standing with /control over of the people. Even though the trailer might look kind of cool, don't waste your money.
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Stigmata, please. You know this is going to suck harder than Linda Lovelace. Didn't we already have the Seventh Sign?
As for Blair Witch, why is everyone getting their panties in such a tightass bunch? I think we all agree that yes, it was 70 minutes of arguing, a la The Real World, and 17 minutes of suspense.
At least I didn't have to wait 16 F!@#ING YEARS TO HAVE JAR JAR BINKS AND COMPANY THRUST ON ME!!!
The only flick I have hope for yet this year (and they've all let me down) is Fight Club. -
Haven't seen the film yet, but that preview smells of trouble. It's so over whelming -all the images and sound and crazy shots. It feels desperate, it feels like the entire film has been condensed into the trailer. Rental.
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I camp all the time, know lots of people who do, don't know a single person who brings either a radio or a cell phone with them. It's not a flaw in logic. BWP is pretty stressful to watch. It's not "the scariest movie of [any]time", but it's better, more creative, more interesting to think about and look at and discuss than any movie I've seen this year. For another great low-budget flick, check out S.R. Bindler's "Hands on a Hard Body."
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OK, so where's the fucked up Christian Coalition, or the Catholic-fucking-league while this film is -ALREADY- being released in theaters, and bashes their religions? No, they want to fuck with a little indie shit because the last scion is a woman, or some shit. Or because Disney -WAS- attached to it. But then again, they still attacked the film after Disney dropped it. Now they have something coming out right now, and what do they do? They stay in their little churchgoing homes, and watch the pope suck off little boys in his spare time as they kiss his ass, and plot their next attack on something that might make someone question religion, and form their own beliefs. I have one thing to say to those assholes: *FUCK* *YOU* you hypocritical bastards!!
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Cmon, enough with the negativity. Are you going to take one reviewer's word before even giving it a chance? In that case, none of us would have gone to see Phantom Menace. Okay so it's no Omen and why the hell would anyone compare this to Blair Witch? BWP is a "mocumentary". Stigmata is an actual movie. By the way, isn't Wynona Ryder suppose to be in an apocalyptic movie too?
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that Billy Corgan did most of the soundtrack, and that is cool.
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What was discovered in the 1940's was NOT closest literature in proximity to the lifespan of Christ. The book of John is. (before i go any further, i assure you i am not a religious wacko... in fact, i have no religious beliefs whatsoever. it's just that, oh... damn college...) Tha papers discovered in the 40's were found stuffed in the binding of another manuscript (a common practice before the invention of cardboard), and were startling because they insinuated homosexual relationships between christ and some boy at the last supper. the exact phrase was something like "Jesus took him home and loved him". the imperfections of translation make for different interpretations. In any case, the ass trust-fund baby who discovered this stuff in an out of the way monestary was not allowed (by the monks)to take the papers, so he photographed them. He went back to the states, and the monks, seeing what was written, distroyed the papers. To this day there are some who suspect he fabricated the photographs by writing them himself or something. Not that this is probably interesting to you in the least, i'm just bored. and my point: what the hell does this have to do with ANYTHING in the stigmata preview??? thoughts, anyone??
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This is my first talk back, but I thought I would respond a little bit as to why I think (and I realize it is just a guess) the Catholic League is not protesting "Stigmata", but is protesting "Dogma." I believe, based on the review above, that Stigmata really doesn't challenge any central doctrines of the Catholic faith, but just does a variation on a theme of Catholic-bashing which can be found in countless other movies. Therefore, it's not really "worth" the Catholic League's time to protest this one. I don't particularly agree with the League's attempts to protest "Dogma" and what people should realize, Catholics and non-Catholics, is that they are just a very small, but vocal, part of the Church and should not be confused with representing the whole Church's view. By the by, I thought the Blair Witch Project was not very interesting or scarey. I found it hard to have that willingj-suspension-of-disbelief. Sorry about the length.
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Listen!, this is not SUPPOSED to be horror or anything!!! That is like saying the Crow films are supposed to be "Horror" just because it deals in dark subject matter. Whoever you are that just reviewed the film, you need to learn that some movies are meant to have the atmosphere be the centerpiece. Sometimes a well-designed atmosphere can convey much stronger emotions than one full of plot and all the trappings of a genre classification, or "Horror" as you dub it. Have you never seen a Werner Herzog film???
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Heh, lets discredit this whole post by starting and saying im a very devote Catholic. Heh, just so you can think of some jokes Ill even add im a former alter boy. Go ahead and make Primal Fear references and see if I care.
Stigmata can join others when it comes to Media that attacks the Catholic Church. Its stupid, gaudy, trashy, and only has one purpose: take down religion. Heh, this is America and the 90s... do I want you to convert... heh its nice if ya wanna but thats not my point. But since when did it become wrong to convert but ok to attack? ITS INSANE! We can make plays about a gay jesus and attack the heart of Catholosism and Christianity and we can have the Sisters of Indulgence or whatever and we can have movies where preists have sex and etc etc etc. BUT you got on Larry King and say Jews run the entertainment business... youre screwed! You are a member of the NRA?? BAH on you!
Why is it always the popular way or the highway? Oh well. Like I care! I just think its wack that because anything has a religious attacking method our wonderfully biased mass media calls it real and serious and takes that same basis and puts whats a crap horor as some great work. Bah.
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What a rambling and disjointed review by Malloy. It really told me nothing about what I like to find out in a review. So bring it on. Maybe its trash, but I don't buy that based on this review.
And I hate to upset anyone with this, but I found "Blair Witch" pretty boring, and really only about ten tense seconds at the end. If you find "Stigmata" to be any good, you might want to read one of last year's thriller/mysteries: "The Genesis Code," by John Case. -
I gotta say, Stigmata sounds like more crap but who's to say? One thing I liked about the Contender's review was his mention of the 100 candles burning in a room. How many times have we seen this? I mean, a character walks into a closed/locked room/hall/vault/catacomb/alien sex dormitory and, hey presto, there are already 250 candles lit and guttering? It ranks right up there with the predispostion of filmic characters to enter a bar, order a drink, engage in a moment's exposition and then scoot off, leaving the drink untouched. Or, a the lead character's unerring ability to turn the TV on just as the emergency newscast about the disaster/latest serial killer update etc is being broadcast. Oh, please...give us something original...
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I gotta say, Stigmata sounds like more crap but who's to say? One thing I liked about the Contender's review was his mention of the 100 candles burning in a room. How many times have we seen this? I mean, a character walks into a closed/locked room/hall/vault/catacomb/alien sex dormitory and, hey presto, there are already 250 candles lit and guttering? It ranks right up there with the predispostion of filmic characters to enter a bar, order a drink, engage in a moment's exposition and then scoot off, leaving the drink untouched. Or, the lead character's unerring ability to turn the TV on just as the emergency newscast about the disaster/latest serial killer update etc is being broadcast. Oh, please...give us something original...
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Well, not really a protest, more like an "anti-Catholic bias watchdog" checklist. It's at www.catholicfilmreview.com/watchdog.html, regular .com for the site. And you're right, the Catholic League doesn't care about the little stuff like "Stigmata." That's why there's stuff like catholicfilmreview.com that monitors it. Cherry-o.
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Just to be consistent, "End of Days" will be on the watchdog checklist, too. Cherry-o, kids.
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Harry, could you please refrain
from putting up reviews that
contain unannounced spoilers,
especially when the movie being
spoiled is NOT the one being
reviewed?! I don't give a damn
about Stigmata, but maybe I would
have liked to have seen The
General's Daughter. -
I don't know what movie this guy was watching, but I saw a cut of "Stigmata" a few months back, and it simply kicks hell out of anything I've seen in a long time. Cool story, great look, music's awesome. I'll pay full price in theaters. Oh by the way, "Project X," "My Science Project," and The Alan Parsons Project each provide more horror than "Blair Witch Project."
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I'll reserve judgement til I actually see the thing, but I do know not one, but two trusted acquaintances who have seen STIGMATA and insist that it is a VERY good thriller. Apparently it is actually somewhat (God forbid) smart which understandably might be a problem for some of the smaller-brained viewers.
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i saw a preview of this film and i believe it was the final product.i thought it was great, very cool and smart for a change. it actually had a story.i have to question someone who saw this film and could spend so much time talking about candles.the imagery was totally cool and very modern. the soundtrack was awsome. i really think smart folks will dig this film big time!
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Disclosure - I directed said movie that young Terry had such a hard time with...
The last thing I want to do is grapple with the awesome literary technique of Terry (did he have a hand in the screenplay of "Eyes Wide Shut"?), but there are a whole bunch of factual things that flew beneath Terry's radar.
1. Stigmatics often bleed copious amounts of blood through their wounds, which are nonetheless not life-threatening. Wierd? Sure - but documented numerous times.
[Log onto mgm.com/stigmata and find out more...]
2. The Gospel that the film refers to is the Gospel of St Thomas - sadly not about Jesus and a close male friend, but a Gospel that was buried in the 4th Century in Egypt when the Catholic Church banned all other Gospels but the four that have survived in their Bible. It was found in 1945 and smuggled out of Egypt by the Jung Institute. There are many others - including one by Mary Magdelene, but as they don't fit in with Church dogma they have been deemed heresy. Shame, really. Makes you wonder why they're so insecure...
(Good book: "Who wrote the New Testament?" by Burton Mack, a Christian, but eyes wide open.)
There's tons more in the movie - whether you like the flick or not - but Terry seems a bit overwhelmed by poor girl's living conditions.
Unless you like having your opinions given to you by writers who can't form sentences, I suggest you make your own mind up.
If any AICN reader/writers do want to get their own sneak - we'll set it up - email @ rupert@spimageworks.com and catch a peak.... -
I'm sorry but If this guy actually liked a nauseating film like the Blair Witch Project, then his opinions on Stigmata don't mean sh#t. The movie looks cool and I'm sure it will be exciteing for people that want more than the idiodic simplicity of that cheap indie film. I'm looking foward to this and Patricia Arquette.
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ALL I KNOW IS THE 30
SECOND STIGMATA TRAILER FREAKED ME OUT MORE THAN THE ENTIRE BWP. I HAVEN'T BEEN THIS BOTHERED BY A MOVIE TRAILER SINCE THE EXORCIST AND I WAS JUST A KID THEN. THIS MOVIE LOOKS DOWNRIGHT EVIL. I'M NOT EVEN TALKING ABOUT WHETHER IT IS GOOD OR BAD AS A MOVIE. I JUST KNOW THAT THE CONTENT AND VISUALS SHOWN IN THE TRAILER DISTURBED ME ON A DEEP LEVEL. I NEED TO START GOING TO CHURCH AGAIN!!!!! -
Why the hell is everyone bashing the "Blair Witch Project" all of a sudden? (especially on a site that is largely responsible for its success). Geez, what's wrong with you people? It's one of the most original and genuinely frightening films in a loooong time. Oh well, must be the "Eyes Wide Shut" effect (occuring when non-mainstream pictures are made available to peasants). Anyway, the Catholic League is indeed mobilizing against "Stigmata" - check it out at http://us.imdb.com/StudioBrief/
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i find it disheartening to think I will be reading a subjective review of a movie and get a nasty opinion of said movie....I thought by going to the movie I would be
intelligent enough to form my own opinion...obviously Mr. Malloy doesn't feel this way!!!
I did notice that his first comments were in praise of BWP...I find it interesting that the only people singing the praises of this movie are the critics. I saw it, as did all of my friends, and thought it sucked. Scary as the Exoricist my ass...I'm willing to give Stigmata a chance just cuz the critics hate it...it must be good then.... -
Honestly, I do not know how anyone could think that Blair Witch was even slightly frightening. I went into that movie (the weekend it premiered) thinking that I would be scared out of my wits. I love horror movies - and like them to really put a scare into me. Blair Witch would have you thinking that you are about to be scared out of your wits - then drop nothing on you. It left you wondering - what the h*ll did I just pay for? and the end was the most frustrating piece of all..by the way talk about unbelievable...if they died out there in the woods lost...who exactly found the camera and survived to bring us the horror of a movie???
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People, you can't get mad at our reviewer just because you don't like his writing style. I'm sorry but his review is pretty accurate. The movie is not a hopeless piece of crap a la The Haunting, but it's hardly in the league of The Sixth Sense (which requires some brain power and a little heart).
The stigmata scenes are way overdone and actually leave you feeling manipulated and "unclean." Yes, the logic is fairly all over the place but I know that doesn't matter to a lot of people. I found the Catholic conspiracy scenes to be far more compelling. It's pretty easy to believe the Church is just a paranoid bureaucracy like any large corporation.
The acting is okay, though hardly exceptional. The main reviewer was correct though that all of Patricia's friends seem to suddenly disappear, and Gabriel Byrne doesn't seem to think it necessary to get a few more witnesses or authorities in to help.
A lot of times the tone of the movie was just bizarre. By all means, go see it if you have any interest in this sort of thing. I'd give it a solid 3 out of 10. -
The reviewer is correct on this one. Not very believable acting or writing.
I have to add that the ending is very anti-climatic. I can't see any reason why a cardinal would want to suppress the message. It was nothing I didn't learn in Catechism.
As a Catholic, the movie didn't strike me as being anti-Catholic. The writers just seemed oddly ignorant considering how much research they obviously did.
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