The Parish (2019) User Reviews

This is unholy bad.

[candm-1 · 3/10 · 15 July 2021]

The film appears to have a great cast and is well acted but let down with a lack luster story and absolutely no sense of menace. Try the unholy if you want to see a film with religious connections in a similar vein that actually works and will give you a shivers down your spine.

Pass on this one or watch it if your really interested in the 9/10 score.

Boring.

[davemathew76 · 3/10 · 3 August 2021]

I really tried watching this. Made it through 1/3 of it still no scares. Looks like everybody who worked on the film jumped on here and gave it a stellar undeserved review. I have when that happens. I only gave it a 3 because the acting was decent and they tried. Can't knock people for trying.

Right down the middle of the road

[ravencorinncarluk · 5/10 · 17 March 2021]

It's neither good nor bad, though probably only deserves 4.5 stars for as derivative and generic as it is. The acting wasn't terrible, but it was nothing to write home about. The story was bland and cliche, though it did pass the time well enough.

Can't complain that I watched it, but even as I'm typing this I've mostly forgotten the movie exists.

Bill Oberst jr?? not more unentertainment??

[jmag004 · 2/10 · 14 June 2021]

Is what went through my mind when I saw the cast list and it still was after watching. Like everything with him involved. Not only is he just NOT a leading man whether as villain or hero, but he clearly doesn't make good choices in the movies he stars in - every single one I've seen was not at all entertaining. I usually now avoid anything he's in or involved in, but read the reviews and thought ok.... but no, it was not any good, especially with his dull, bland and often droll (as a very minor uplift, but not enough) presence.

Sorry if you read this and take it personally, but seriously it's not the type casting either.

BRAVO!

[cmnewk · 4 April 2021]

Full disclosure: I was a PA for a day on this (for those who don't know, PA's are the ones who run out to grab coffee, LOL). Being the cynic I once was, I expected to say "great job".

First, not only was the set absolutely professional but fun and the talent from the actors and filmmakers was incredible just to watch. Second only to the quality of a (good) Hollywood sets Second, by the end of the screening I was blown away by what had been created. From the first word written to the final rendering...friggin awesome. Writing, directing, cinematography and some of the best acting. I don't say this lightly because I'm the type that looks for a stinker to ruin it all.

I may have a small credit in this but this is exactly what makes me proud and humbled to even call myself a part of this caliber of talent.

Third, if you only see the surface you will never understand the depth of things.

Not blow you of the chair

[baggybear · 4/10 · 20 October 2021]

The mother drinks wine all the time , and its perhaps the only way to suffer through this movie , the acting is good and effects are total okay , but the story is boring and stupid - also why must it be a nun every time in horror movies.

Generic story with nothing new to say

[emmajawilkin · 2/10 · 19 September 2022]

Just very boring. The story is uninspired and generic - kid draws scary stuff that turns out to be true/scary nun/school friend that may or may not be a ghost - the list of horror-film clichés goes on. I kept hoping for a last-minute twist to make it interesting, but sadly, that never came. The denouement has some dodgy special effects, and some of the acting is equally wobbly. The main characters accept the fact that they're seeing ghosts as if it's nothing shocking at all. Some story threads are left dangling and there are loads of plot holes. All in all, a waste of time - avoid, avoid, avoid.

JUST BAD !!

[thothgirl-43518 · 1/10 · 21 July 2021]

It's obvious that the reviews here are phony and people received some type of incentive for it. What you have here is bad acting, bad story, bad movie. Do yourself a favor and pass this one by, please.

Ok but with some problems

[RandomTard · 4/10 · 2 October 2021]

This movie is not horrible. It's a bit slow, the acting isn't great and the story doesn't get explained excactly. There are a couple of jumpscares but other then those there really isn't much of a horror in it. And that brings me to the biggest issue I had with the movie - the sound balance. You can either hear speaking and have your ears explode or not hear any speaking and not have your ears explode. I don't get why is it so hard to balance the sound effects properly.

What?

[rickytravis68 · 1/10 · 20 March 2021]

I don't get all the 10/10 reviews, the best thing about this film is that I only lost 1h 24m of my life watching it. I've been more scared watching The Chase or Pointless which is exactly what this film is.

Incredible s***, must skip

[ks-60500 · 3/10 · 8 April 2021]

Boring, boring and boring horror. No peak and like many other ghost stories and so average. Daughter is a wrong cast, don't have that feelings who can connect to other side.

Pretty damn good!

[nskuba · 8/10 · 22 March 2021]

I watched this movie because a friend who loves indie horrors recommended it. It was pretty damn good. The story held dragged me in; the characters were well developed; the acting brought tears to my eyes. It's a great movie!

Just the right amount of horror

[six-jennie · 7/10 · 3 April 2021]

Nice little Indy horror not too much blood and definitely enough mystery to keep me curious. It definitely has all the elements scary nuns, mysterious happenings and helpful priests. If you want the scare without the stress inducing nerves this is definitely worth a watch.

There Is No Caleb That Goes To School Here.

[wandernn1-81-683274 · 4/10 · 26 February 2022]

For some reason this made for IFC movie didn't rub me the wrong way like most of these low budget 'horror' movies do. It was a unimposing ghost story. It could have been a lot better. It could have been far worse. This storyline school / church / ghost in the basement stuff has been done so many times, however, I just can't give this one more than a 4/10.

Gone (?) man

[kosmasp · 4/10 · 12 March 2023]

No pun intended - the question is, what are you looking for in a movie? Do you care what budget it has? Because all those things may play a role in how you perceive the movie at hand here. Horror movies are dime a dozen (that is the saying right? You know which one I am talking about) - so there is a lot to choose from. This may not be the worst of the bunch - but of course there are a lot better ones out there. You decide if your time is worth it.

And worth it is something the characters have to decide - going away to deal with trauma ... does it work? Is it worth it all? Especially when it becomes apparent that you can't run (hide) from certain things. Enough horror to jolt and excite those who are into this kind of stuff and better actors than most low budget movies ... still your expectations will determine the bar this has to pass ...

So, who's the good guy?

[laflammemark · 5/10 · 30 January 2024]

Man, I hate to leave a review when I didn't actually finish a movie, but this one really got under my skin.

It got under my skin because with writing just a little bit sharper, it could have been something special. You got your creepy nuns. You got your hulking ghost janitor and you got your blood gushing dead husband trying to deliver messages from beyond the grave.

How could you possibly fail with all that going on?

For me, it all went sour about halfway through when I realized I didn't really like anyone in the movie.

The mom? I suppose they tried writing her as the tough, protective mama, determined to persevere in spite of bone deep grief because her daughter needs here and all that.

But the lady didn't come off that way at all. To me, she was a snotty, arrogant, petulant Karen who dismissed with a sneer every single person who tried to help her. By the midway point of the movie, every snide remark she uttered in order to assert that she was smarter than everyone else was, to me, like the sound of someone twisting Styrofoam in their hands. I hate that sound!

The daughter was petulant and whiny, too, but hey, she's a teenager, she's allowed to be the those things. Ultimately, with no one to cheer for and the plot inching forward with the gusto of a sickly slug, I decided to bail on the flick.

As the tattoo says, I have no regerts.

Decent Enough

[icocleric · 5/10 · 29 July 2022]

Based on the ratings I thought this film was going to be truly awful, but it actually wasn't that bad. It's not amazing, or stand out, but it's not that bad. There were sound quality issues that were a little annoying though.

There was a plot, and it was basic along the lines of there's ghosts wanting a mystery to be solved. I did however think the kids drawings of some of the creepy stuff happening where pretty cool. Definitely adds to the creepy. And it is nice they thought about the mystery too.

The acting was very average again not bad, but not amazing either. It doesn't really have a rewatch value, but it was decent enough to be entertaining.

Another triumph for the Washington State Film Community

[lehtonenj85 · 10/10 · 20 March 2021]

This movie does what not all such horror movies do. It creates a real sense throughout that these characters and the settings they are in are relatable and real. The characters of the mother and the daughter (played by Angela DiMarco and Sanae Loutsis) and their relationship, plus the priest (played by Bill Oberst Jr) and his background are all written so believably that when the film begins to introduce all of the suspense and things like the supernatural, you accept it because you feel for who you are seeing on screen. Big thumbs up to Todd Downing, the screenwriter. And of course, there is the wonderful and believable acting by Angela DiMarco, Sanae Loutsis and Bill Oberst Jr. Nobody ever winks at the camera and goes "Hey, we're in a horror movie here". They treat it seriously and believably. And so do all of the supporting actors. Then there is the cinematography by Domenic Barbero, who should be one of the most sought after cinematographers working today. That's how good his work is. The film's director, David S. Hogan, is a terrific actor (he even appears briefly in this movie) and with this movie, he shows that he is a terrific director. I hope it's not too long before his next film. Big congrats and applause to Mighty Tripod Productions for getting such a good movie made for such a small budget.

Solid if unremarkable genre effort

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 6/10 · 18 June 2021]

Haunted by the death of her husband, a woman and her daughter move to a small town for a fresh start to their lives but as they spend time getting adjusted find themselves targeted by a strange nun which invites them into a supernatural conspiracy and consults a local priest to help them solve it.

Overall, this one was rather decent at what it set out to be. A lot of what works overall here is the strong first half that manages to employ a fairly realistic portrayal of grief and loss that is what sets this one in motion. Bringing about the initial sequences of the husbands' death and how that's treated her, from the memories of their lives together to the arrival at the school and the daughters' struggles to fit in and find friends all coming together as a clear sign of her deteriorating mental state and grasp on reality to come. When this one turns into the featured genre thrills, it has a lot to like as well. The slow-burgeoning mystery over the town involving the revelation about the mysterious nun and the various figures around her involved in the strange hallucinations taking them into a rather chilling and complex mystery to be solved. Given the series of random clues that are initially set up here involving the imaginary friend, the hulking janitor, and the ghostly visions of the nun walking around, putting everything together here is a rather enjoyable time as it leads into the finale where it comes together to resolve the mystery into a decent enough time here. These here are what hold this one up for the most part. There are a few flaws found in this one. The main issue to be had here is the main lack of action that holds the pacing of the film down considerably, especially in the first half. While it commendable works well to establish their personal problems and setups throughout here, the fact that nothing overtly horrific happens is a bit of a struggle to get through. The pacing tends to be more in league with a drama-heavy approach that doesn't really offer up a lot of extra excitement to generate some action or confrontations throughout here. As well, there's a slight problem with the lackluster finale that crops up here which has some issues. The main one is the overall rushed and rapid-fire presentation of the action, saving this grandiose battle between good and evil is a matter of fewer than ten minutes running time. Considering the storyline factors here involving the quest to solve the mystery about these beings, a big battle involving the fate between the two should've occurred yet it just goes by so quickly that it makes for an anticlimactic feel and a question over whether the villain was as big of a threat as it was. However, these are really all that hold this one back.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language, Violence, and children-in-jeopardy.

Fantastic!

[angelafaro · 10/10 · 3 April 2021]

The filmmakers behind The Parish are some of the very finest in the Seattle film community! They make me proud to be a part of the local community. I love every aspect of what they have done with this film! David Hogan really knocked it out of the park with his directorial debut, the cast are all phenomenal! Sanae Loutsis is a rising young star to watch out for, Angela DiMarco is an actress who I could never get tired of watching on screen, she is a true gem and makes every role so believable and the nuances of her performance in this film make it feel so real and raw, and Bill Oberst Jr?!! Omg amazing!! The cinematography by Domenic Barbero is gorgeous and so well done, he always does phenomenal work so I already knew going into this film that it was going to look amazing! Todd Downing delivered a wonderful, relatable script and then this fantastic team turned it into something very special that they should all be very proud of, I know I sure am proud of them all! I can't wait to see what they do next!

Dig deeper than the surface!

[paul-19610 · 9/10 · 6 April 2021]

I'm not into horror, I do love me a little suspense though. Considering this, this movie already scored twice for me (I really don't understand why it is labeled as "horror", that is misleading and it explains low ratings of some disappointed viewers, IMO). But this movie goes way further: it copes with difficult issues like loss of a parent, of a husband and how delicate it is to handle it as a spouse but especially towards the kids. That's what the movie was about for me, the suspense/thriller part was only a side entertainment. If you can't appreciate this deeper meaning of the story, I can imagine this was not your movie. Your loss.

Go see "The Parish"!

[jpfriedman · 8/10 · 16 November 2019]

Tonight I was fortunate to see the WORLD PREMIERE of this excellent super-natural thriller! Every detail is top notch: the story and script by Todd Downing, the direction by David Hogan, the entire cast, particularly Angela DiMarco, Sanae Loutsis, and Bill Oberst Jr., the cinematography, lighting, sound, special effects, etc. Great job done by all. Go see "The Parish"!

SOLD OUT World Premiere

[angelamdimarco-891-154329 · 9/10 · 16 November 2019]

After a long journey in post production, we were thrilled to share this supernatural thriller, The Parish, to a packed regal cinema! There were laughs, jump scares, tears and applause. The Parish is more than ghosts, blood, and horrific nightmares (although it has those too), its about grief. A story about a wife losing her deployed husband, trying to raise her teen daughter while fighting her own demons. Bill Oberst Jr., as Father Felix, helps these badass women fight evil and renew their faith. This is a film that will keep you thinking after you leave the Theatre... and you may want to leave your bedside light on.

~Angela DiMarco (Liz Charles)

A Thought Provoking Film

[therosewaters · 10/10 · 16 November 2019]

We attended the world premiere this weekend. We went expecting to see a horror film, but got so much more. While the film does have its share of horror elements, it was the relationship between the characters and the outstanding acting that drew us in. You know it's a good film when you spend the rest of the evening talking about what you've seen.

Real Ghost Story

[rotini-52586 · 10/10 · 17 March 2021]

Excellent acting.....real believable plot....no blood and guts....just a great story.