The Vatican Tapes

Possession movies are nothing new, and neither are found footage movies. With the new thriller "The Vatican Tapes," one might think we are getting a combo of both (although "The Last Exorcism" already combined the two). Regardless, you'd be wrong. Director Mark Neveldine and writers Chris Morgan and Christopher Borelli never fully utilize either of these genres to their advantage, making the film just sort of a reductive mess.

"Tapes" is a horror film that isn't sure what it wants to be. With a title like "The Vatican Tapes" and a prologue that mentions the secret exorcism recordings of the Vatican, the set-up is ripe for conspiracy and terror.

When Cardinal Bruun (Peter Andersson) pulls Vicar Imani (Djimon Hounsou) aside to show him video of a particularly disturbing possession (it's not really that disturbing) they decide a Vatican intervention should be done. Cut to a few weeks earlier and we meet Angela (Olivia Taylor Dudley), the perfect southern California girl with an adorable boyfriend named Pete (John Patrick Amedori) and an overprotective father (Dougray Scott).

After she cuts herself at her surprise birthday party, Angela is taken to a local hospital. When she's released, she starts to act oddly and seems to be a magnet for all the ravens in Los Angeles County. At first she's just super thirsty and takes to chugging down water. Then she starts acting aggressively. Then the ravens start to attack a bus she's riding in. Strange event after strange event occurs, all of which are somehow noticed by Father Lozano (Michael Pena), a local priest who wanders the halls of the hospital like a creeper. Before you can say Beelzebub, Angela is in a pysch ward exhibiting even weirder behavior, and Father Lozano is spiriting her away to have an exorcism. Because, you know, she's being difficult during her therapy sessions so the next logical answer would be that she's possessed.

While I've just given away much of the plot, the problem is the film goes nowhere we haven't seen a million times already. From "The Last Exorcism" to "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" to a myriad of lower-budget possession movies, they all come down to an exorcism done in a barn or bedroom with a now-possessed attractive girl wearing a nightgown and whose body keeps snapping into unfortunate positions. There really isn't one original bone in this film's body, despite the promise of the title.

The difference comes in the last five minutes, when the true answer to what is going on is revealed and suddenly it gets a hundred times more interesting. Unfortunately, that's when the movie ends -- most likely with the promise of a sequel. Sadly, the blandness of this installment might not bode well for future episodes, although it could make a hell of a TV series.

Stranger still is the somewhat well-known cast who are all wasted. Hounsou ("Guardians of the Galaxy") does nothing except walk around the Vatican listening to the Cardinal tell him what is about to go down. Michael Pare ("Eddie and the Cruisers") shows up as a cop, but for no more than about two scenes. Dougray Scott is reduced to the reactive father, and Michael Pena, who would seem to be starring in his first leading role, really doesn't do much but observe and comment on what's happening. There is no depth to any of the characters (despite a line or two here or there) and any implication that there is a bigger conspiracy at the Vatican is never utilized.

Director Mark Neveldine (previously known only as Neveldine), who's most popular films were the "Crank" movies, shoots the movie well and it looks terrific. But as for it being scary, there isn't a fright to be had in the entire 90-minute running time. It's all just twisted mouths and guttural line readings with a lot of Bible quoting to get the demon out of the girl. While the cast is all game and able, they are wasted on a tepid script that adds nothing new to a well-worn genre that desperately needs a resurrection. This isn't it. What it could stand to possess is a bit more ingenuity.