Review: 'Holy Ghost People'

Title: HOLY GHOST PEOPLE
Year: 2013
Director: Mitchell Altieri
Writer: Kevin Artigue, Joe Egender, Mitchell Altieri, Phil Flores
Starring: Emma Greenwell, Joe Egender, Brendan McCarthy

HOLY GHOST PEOPLE is one of those films that have the ability to pull you in right from the beginning. You may not be entirely clear as to what the heck is going on at first, but you’re instantly hooked. And once you’re hooked, there is no going back.

HOLY GHOST PEOPLE opens with Wayne (Brendan McCarthy) having the crap beat out of him by a group of men outside the bar. What type of dispute made this beating necessary, we don’t know. But at the opening credits roll this is what we see. Charlotte (Emma Greenwell), a young girl, tries to intervene. Her efforts lead to her being thrown against a wall pretty hard and Wayne taking an increased beating. Naturally you would think Charlotte has some type of relationship with Wayne, maybe his girlfriend or perhaps a sister. That’s not the case here. The two are strangers.

As far as opening scenes go, this one was terrific. Words don’t do it justice. This easily could have been a scene straight from a Coen Brothers film. That’s praise I don’t just go throwing around. This scene is only a few minutes, if that, but director Mitchell Altieri had already pulled me in.

As our story begins to unfold we learn that Charlotte is looking for her missing sister. Believing her to be somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains, possibly part of a strange church known as the Church of One Accord, Charlotte seeks Wayne out for help. Once Wayne and Charlotte reach the church they soon discover that this is a truly devoted group that will do anything for faith and their preacher, Brother Billy (Joe Egender).

To say more about HOLY GHOST PEOPLE would be to spoil it. I will say that it is loosely based off and inspired by the 1967 documentary of the same name. That documentary was about a church in West Virginia that had snake handling, singing, speaking in tongues and faith healing all as part of their normal service. Clips from that black and white film are used in Altieri’s effort to great effect, giving off a truly dark and eerie vibe.

The highlight of HOLY GHOST PEOPLE is the performance of Egender. Egender makes Brother Billy a charming, yet very sinister man. His followers will do anything for him and the faith, even if it means risking injury to themselves or anyone else. He constantly brings a menacing energy to the screen. It’s quite marvelous and one of the best performances I have seen in quite some time.

With its dark, gothic drama, HOLY GHOST PEOPLE is a thriller straight out of the worlds created by William Faulkner. It doesn’t really hit on the black comedy of Faulkner, but it definitely hits you with that eerie, dreadful feeling that his work so often evoked from readers.

Mitchell Altieri has come a long way as a director and HOLY GHOST PEOPLE is certainly his best work to date.

Rating: 4/5

HOLY GHOST PEOPLE is available now on DVD from XLrator Media.