• Release year: 2025
• Director: Michael Peterson.
• Producers: Kendall Anlian, Kurtis David Harder, David Hiatt, Taylor Nodrick, and Michael Peterson.
• Screenplay by: Tim Cairo.
• Cinematography by: David Baron.

Shotgun Commentary: very creative exorcisms in a very cheap-looking film.

Review

Shadow of God is the type of film you might not necessarily look for, but you will certainly keep watching if you come across it. The premise is quite simple, an exorcist goes back to his hometown, where he comes across a deadly mystery. It is a clearly low-budget film, but the creativity displayed makes up for it quite adequately.

Fascinating approach

The film begins with a rather intense exorcism (are there non-intense ones, really?) where two priests try to save a girl from the demon that has possessed her. Or rather, one tries to save the girl while the other shakes in his boots with fear. During this opening scene, we learn three things. First, that there is something huge cooking in the supernatural plane. Second, that if you are new to an exorcism, you should follow your leader no matter what. And third, that the protagonist, Mason Harper (Mark O’Brien), is a total badass.

With the context set, you follow Mason to his hometown while he experiences what could be hallucinations, nightmares, or visions. Either way, the story remains eerie throughout, even during the “breathing moments” that horror movies provide to let your heart rate go back to normal. As for the main mystery, it is enthralling enough to keep your attention despite the pitiful acting and the low-budget effects. The twist on exorcisms being the main attraction. A unique approach that shall not be revealed in this review.

A good leader

The main character in this adventure, Mason, is always on the verge of being interesting, creating a lot of mystery and allure during the first scene, but slowly deflating as the movie progresses. He has a set of principles, but he can change them if you don’t like them. He is extremely against the immoral act of breaking celibacy, but completely fine with drinking himself to sleep…

He is not necessarily likeable, but he is involved in a conspiracy that is engaging enough for you to want him to dig deeper. O’Brien, a star that you might know from Ready or Not (2019), plays Mason rather well, giving him as much personality as one can to a pretty cliché character.

Faulty support

Sadly, Mason is surrounded by supporting characters, and very few of them are played properly. It isn’t Josh Cruddas’ or Adrian Hough’s first rodeo playing evil, creepy guys in horror movies, and it shows in the way they are clearly the most comfortable with their roles.

Jaqueline Byers as Tanis Green, Mason’s ex-lover, does her best with the character she has. Still, one would expect a better performance from an actress with so much experience in horror. As for Shaun Johnston, his performance is completely forgettable despite the wonderful character he’s cast as, which is a shame, but still a lot better than the performance of everybody else.

Ever watched a mystery TV film at 3am in a local channel, that is the vibe those performances are giving. Not so much soap-opera overacting, but more so “friend doing you a favour for a uni project and having way too much fun playing pretend”.

All in all, Shadow of God is a great idea developed with a small budget. The visuals and special effects go as far as they possibly can within the size of the project, but the story is good enough to allow you to see past that and actually enjoy the experience.

Thanks to SHUDDER for early access! Shadow of God will be released the 11th of April on SHUDDER and AMC+.

Advice to take from this movie:

• Making your American actors speak Italian is always a risk. Unless you want to add some humour to your story, then by all means, go right ahead.
• If a bunch of psychos decide not to kill a perfectly killable person, you better write one hell of a reason. “Just because” is not gonna cut it.
• Starting with a killer scene is great, but you better have the development to back it up.

What’s your take? Have you watched Shadow of God? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀