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Venial
USA 2014
produced by Joe Ciminera for Hexane Productions
directed by Joe Ciminera
starring Tiffany Browne-Tavarez, Julia DeGregorio, Madison VanDeusen, Joshua Pickel, Julie Notwicz, Joe Ciminera, James Sferrazza, Frank Riano, Robert Arensen, Gianna Ciminera, Alexa Ciminera, Amanda Belen Martinez, James Terriaca, Thomas Bencivenga, Mike Valva, John Formica, Shirley Powell, Patrick Antonecchia, Keeler Jay Verson, Timothy Schweitzer, Nicole Rosenberg, John Basedow, Bob Socci, Frank Socci, Gene McParland, Dennis Carter, Tom Mastrianni, Corey I. Fader
written by Joe Ciminera, music by Kevin MacLeod, Matt Brunson, FreddyFool
review by Mike Haberfelner
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After receiving the news that her husband (John Basedow) has fallen in the war, Claire
(Tiffany Browne-Tavarez), a so far devout Christian, denounces God. This
might not sound like much, but soon her three kids (Julia DeGregorio,
Madison VanDeusen, Joshua Pickel) start to witness weird occurences in the
house - in a word, ghosts. But while that might seem plenty upsetting, the
really upsetting thing about it that their mom refuses to take them
seriously and tries to calm them. Instead she just scolds them and leaves
them alone with their fears - which gets them into enough of a rebellious
mode to call on the church for help. The local priest, Father O'Brien
(Robert Arensen) sees little cause for alarm, just seeing a woman stricken
down by grief. But his assistant, a trained exorcist (Joe Ciminera)
decides to return to the house a couple of days later with two colleagues
(James Sferrazza, Frank Riano) to perform the proper rites to cleanse the
house ... but alas, they never reach their destination, being killed by
ghosts trying to get there. Children have been disappearing in the
neighbourhood in recent weeks, a Constable (Mike Valva) questions Claire
about the well-being of her kids, a conversation that starts out as purely
routine, but Claire's behaviour grows increasingly weird so the constable
can't help but start suspecting her. Learning about the goings-on in the
house from her (benign) ghost friends, a local psychic (Julie Notwicz)
decides to take the newly vacant post of maid at Claire's estate, and the
psychic soon finds out that the place is more than just a little haunted,
but also that there's something seriously wrong with Claire, as if she was
influenced by beings from another realm. Oh, and then there are her
children, who are in mortal danger ... if it's not already too late ... A
very powerful and atmospheric supternatural thriller that might not have
all the answers to what's going on ... and that, really, is part of its
strength, it is about the creepiness of the situation, so what good would
explaining it away do? Add to this a strong yet subtle directorial effort
that makes the most out of often very little, and a chilling central
performance by Tiffany Browne-Tavarez, all set in front of pretty great
and moody locations, and you have simply got yourself a pretty good movie!
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