DVD Review: Holy Ghost People

By Brad Henderson

Religious horror films are truly terrifying. We have our slashers, monsters, and alien horror, but we know those can be easily dismissed. Sure, there are accounts of people dressing up and killing people and there are serial killers, but we are not surrounded by that. We hear about these things on TV and the Internet but it doesn’t hit close to home. Probably the only things that hit close to home are school shootings because that could literally happen anywhere, at any time, by anyone.

Religion surrounds us all day. Whether you believe in God or you don’t, you see something that reminds you of it daily. You may even forget you see it or just block it out because it comes to you in every shape or form through the day. Think about it: you see a cross, someone praying, a Bible, or you witness people blessing their food. You have become so used to it you don’t even notice you are seeing it. It becomes a natural thing that our brains have become accustomed to.

Everyone knows someone that believes in something different. Whether it is a Mormon, Baptist, Muslim, Jehovah’s Witness, or even a Scientologist, we know that people believe in all sorts of things and worship different or many Gods. You may think other religions are crazy or even wonder how someone can actually believe in something so nuts.

Throughout history we have heard of many people leading others into the darkness and using religion and God to fool them into thinking something extremely radical. So when we see these films about religion with a horror aspect, there is something that makes it more real because it can easily happen. When people are scared and have no place to turn, they sometimes turn to a church, someone who can promise them happiness, or just someone who tells them everything will be all right.

Holy Ghost People is a new film from the Butcher Brothers that focuses on the horror at a small closed-off church up in the mountains. It stars Joe Egender as the fascinating and haunting Brother Billy, who leads this small congregation of horrors. A girl is on the search for her sister, a member of the Church Of The Accord, and she “hires” an ex-marine to assist her on a journey to the backwoods.

Holy Ghost People is not at all what I expected but it pleased me to no end. It is wonderfully shot with some of the best acting that I’ve seen in quite some time in an indie film. Even though this isn’t your typical horror film from the Butcher Brothers, they do stay in touch with their roots and scare us with more of a realistic horror.

It’s a relief to see a film like this relying on characters and their presence rather than trying to scare you with some kind of possession or weird shit. Strong characters and good actors go a lot further than something trying to be scary. People are real, not monsters. For example, John Hawkes’s character in Martha Marcy May Marlene was one of the most haunting characters I’ve ever seen and Joe Egender comes pretty damn close to it in Holy Ghost People.

Going into this film blind is the best way to go. And stay away from the trailers. Holy Ghost People was a total surprise left and right and went to places I didn’t expect, but that’s exactly what I wanted.

Holy Ghost People will be released on DVD on April 8 from XLrator Media.