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- The film received generally negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 20%, based on 45 reviews, with an average rating of 3.99/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A loud, rote exorcism thriller that presents nothing new to an already overpopulated subgenre."
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Jul 24, 2015 · 20% Tomatometer 45 Reviews 58% Audience Score 2,500+ Ratings The fate of the world hangs in the balance when a cleric (Peter Andersson) battles an ancient satanic force for a young woman's...
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The Vatican Tapes is a feeble Exorcist-style film that...
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The Vatican Tapes Pictures and Photo Gallery -- Check out...
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The fate of the world hangs in the balance when a cleric...
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Jul 24, 2015 · It's up to Father Lozano ( Michael Peña) to fetch the appropriate demon-busting help: Cardinal Bruun ( Peter Andersson ), a no-nonsense Catholic who was possessed when he was 12 years old, and now fights demons that hide inside otherwise defenseless women's bodies.
Jul 23, 2015 · Silly, screechy and eminently watchable, this thrifty horror exorcise (er, exercise) could yield decent theatrical profit for Pantelion Films, and might turn even more heads in VOD play.
Jul 22, 2015 · The Vatican Tapes: Directed by Mark Neveldine. With Olivia Taylor Dudley, John Patrick Amedori, Dougray Scott, Michael Peña. A priest and two Vatican exorcists must do battle with an ancient satanic force to save the soul of a young woman.
- (19K)
- Horror, Thriller
- Mark Neveldine
- 2015-07-22
- Demon be gone!
- Verdict
By Josh Lasser
Posted: Jul 24, 2015 7:00 am
It is by no means essential that an audience care for the characters on screen in a movie, but if you want your audience invested in what happens to the characters it certainly helps. Put another way, if the audience forms a relationship with the characters, the audience will care more. This does not occur in The Vatican Tapes, Mark Neveldine's new film about a young woman possessed by a malevolent spirit.
After a brief opening where we see a video of this woman, Angela (Olivia Dudley), possessed, the story goes back in time to show us how this horrific event began. We only spend the briefest amount of time with Angela before things begin to rapidly go downhill. While these moments are long enough to establish basic facts about who she is—a woman celebrating her birthday with her boyfriend, Pete (John Patrick Amedori), a man who is not liked by her army officer father, Roger (Dougray Scott)—we never form a connection with her.
It isn't enough. It isn't nearly enough, but it is one in a long string of moments in The Vatican Tapes where Neveldine and company opt to not fully develop their characters. Angela, Pete, and Roger, are broadly drawn, generic individuals who are too rapidly thrown into unexplained circumstances. Added to that is the fact that the freaky possession portion of the movie is never all that freaky.
Perhaps this is hampered by a PG-13 rating, there are certainly several moments which could induce chills—or at the very least queasy stomachs—that feel as though they are dialed down at the last minute. Rather than showing the gore, the camera cuts away or gives a shot from behind so that it can't be seen. While that is certainly an acceptable filmmaking technique, it diminishes the audience's level of fear in a movie where we already don't care about the characters.
The Vatican Tapes is yet another movie in the long list of movies about an evil spirit possessing a young woman and an exorcism being required to remove said spirit. It exists without any real scares or chills, and only the smallest attempt to differentiate itself. The closest it comes to causing fear is grossly manipulating the audience by putting...
Jul 23, 2015 · “The Vatican Tapes” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). Terrible houseguest behavior and some sexual references.
The film received generally negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 20%, based on 45 reviews, with an average rating of 3.99/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A loud, rote exorcism thriller that presents nothing new to an already overpopulated subgenre." [9]
