Shadow of God
Mason Harper’s life is one of extremes, raised in the Congregation of the New Rapture in Alberta, Canada, where his father Angus tortured him to set an example of righteousness and piety to the rest of the frightened flock, he eventually escaped with his friend Tanis Green only to later find a home in the Catholic Church, its rituals perhaps less bloody but no less strange.
Now an exorcist attempting to end the possession of a particularly stubborn demonic entity in Guadalajara, Mexico, the less experienced Father Daniel is killed before Mase is able to defeat it, the Vatican informing him that there have been several similar deaths the same day, and travelling home brings another shock, the sheriff visiting Mase to inform him that his long-dead father has been found alive but confused, something beyond the jurisdiction of the law and falling into the realm of the spiritual.
Directed by Knuckleball’s Michael Peterson from a script by Off Ramp’s Tim Cairo, the long, dark Shadow of God falls over The Righteous’ Mark O’Brien as Father Mason Harper and Ascension’s Jacqueline Byers as Doctor Tanis Green, both survivors of the Congregation, thought disbanded following the death of their cruel and unbending leader but rising again under the hand of Beau (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’s Adrian Hough).
The Grand Cleric whose acolytes will kidnap, torture and murder in the name of God, theirs is an Old Testament viewpoint though their cult is entirely their own beast, while the Shadow of God springs from the same poisoned well as religious horrors and black comedies such as The Seventh Seal, The Prophecy and Dogma, espousing the heresy that God is far from benevolent, an angry and vengeful deity who uses humans as pawns and is prepared to overturn the board if the game does not go his way.
The Congregation as insane, irrational and impulsive as would be expected of a cult whose belief in the imminence of the end days is supported by witnessed events which can genuinely be termed Biblical with the resurrection of Angus Harper (Wynonna Earp’s Shaun Johnston), they believing that the Rapture will save them while a casual visit from Lucifer (Murderbot’s Josh Cruddas) has Mase thinking that in fact the entire plane of existence is to be wiped clean, though his source is not unknown to be deceitful.
Carried by the intense performances of the leads, O’Brien in particular, Mase willing to sacrifice himself but not one other in the name of his devotion, unlike the enemies and strange allies he finds himself keeping company with, Shadow of God manages to be more engaging and consistent than either of the recent major studio parallels The Pope’s Exorcist or The Exorcist: Believer, played out on in a Canadian barn for reasons of budget but still invoking a hint of the cosmic, though the ease with which the Spear of Destiny is manifested is perhaps best considered as a gift from God.
Shadow of God will be available on Shudder from Friday 11th April
