8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Baffled, June 20, 2001
This review is from: Apostate (DVD)
The story in short: A Jesuit priest, Michael Killan, returns home to Puerto Rico when his brother is murdered by a serial killer. After some hesitation he agrees to help in the investigation of the crime as the murderes seems to belong to the art scene of the island and Michael is an artist (painter), too. Although the story leaves quite a few questions open, e.g., is there a connection between the killer and Michael, which was hinted at in the film, but never substantiated, and uses some often used chliches about clerical life (homosexuality, misuse of small boys, alcohol problems) the film is certainly worth watching and is definitely one of Richard Grieco's better efforts; the quality of Dennis Hoppers's performance obvious. I picked up the German version (video tape) of this movie some years ago and was not so happy with the picture quality and also the dialogues seemed a bit stilted or vague. Putting this down to the problem of transferring dialogue from one language to another and as I otherwise I liked the movie I was happy to see that the original was now available on DVD, especially as the DVD version often includes additional material or deleted scenes. What surprise!!! In this case it is just the other way round. A lot of scenes and dialogues throughout the film are shortened and the end scene of the German (european) version of the film was deleted completely giving the film a totally different ending. I do not know if the producers of this DVD honestly think that the American audience is really so simple that they have to have an "and they lived happily ever after" ending hinted at (Michael had fallen in love with an art student he met during the investigation) and cannot understand or accept a more complicated and maybe less popular ending. So European customers beware. If you buy the DVD most of you will be disappointed.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hopper and Grieco Are Awesome!, August 8, 2004
This review is from: Apostate (DVD)
And yet another movie review...a lazy Sunday
afternoon...the guru of movie-goers just had to watch
another...and this one still has remnants upon my
body...chill bumps the size of ladybugs.
Good evening. It's Paul again. Just finished
watching "The Apostate" - a film most moviegoers
probably never heard of. But I'm sure you are
familiar with Dennis Hopper and Richard Grieco.
This one is a one-of-a-kind creeper. It had me
thinking so deeply I wasn't sure if I could finish it
out. Being raised a Catholic, I related so well to
the insight...the tragedies...the compelling fear and
love of God in one fell swoop.
Not since his bizarre performance in "Blue Velvet" has
Dennis Hopper been more weird...eerie...downright
frightening. Here are a few lines from the film,
without giving away any of the plot:
"There is only one way to rid yourself of temptation
and that is to give into it."
"You believe in God don't you?. There's more evidence
of the devil."
Yes, it is creepy. It is actually freaky and very
much adult. It is filled with emotion, devotion and
fear. It contains a spine-tingling soundtrack and
puts you into a trance. I just couldn't let go of
this flick. I hung around to the very end, hoping its
worst nightmare would come to an end. And guess what?
It doesn't. Till the end, you will be guessing as
hints fly at you left and right.
So what is an Apostate? As defined by the
film..."falling away from what one believes in."
More quotes:
"Be careful out there. There are a lot of demons."
"The horror I am about to create...I need restraint."
And this one tops them all..."Did you slay the demons?
No. They don't die...they just lay in wait."
It is enthralling, captivating and inspiring. And it
all has to do with beliefs and art. But
remember..."all profound art looks ugly at first."
"The Apostate" gets a firm 10 in the psycho thriller
genre'. You may want to deem it a serial killer
thriller, but it goes much deeper than that.
Not for kids! Maybe not even suited for some adults.
Wanna be mesmerized with fear and quality acting from
Hopper and Grieco? "The Apostate" is for you.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
FATHER WHERE ART THOU, January 27, 2005
This review is from: Apostate (DVD)
Enigmatic and entrancing. Disturbing and depressing. Tense and ignoble. THE APOSTATE is all these and more. Atmospherically filmed and directed by William Gove, the story tells a very strange tale of an obviously demented man who views killing people as his art, his method of achieving immortality. Stalking the streets, he chooses his victims and brutally murders them to achieve his artistic thirst. Enter a young priest, who is the brother of one of the killer's victims. As expected, this priest is struggling with his faith and when his mother commits suicide, he vows to help his uncle the homicide detective catch the killer. In the risky move of letting us know right away who the killer is, the movie does manage to maintain its suspense in when and how he will be caught.
Dennis Hopper reprises his role of the psychotic weirdo, but gives a more restrained performance than usual. The usually adequate Richard Grieco turns in a very good performance as Father Michael whose fight with his faith is almost as vivid as his struggle with Hopper. Michael Cole (Mod Squad) has a small but effective role as the Monsignor whose true hypocrisy is revealed in a letter to Grieco's mother. Frank Medrano does a nice spin as Father Neal, Grieco's friend who hears a stirring confession, and meets an unpleasant end. Lovely Bridget Anne White plays Mary, the art model who tickles Father's fancy. Kristin Minter plays Charlotte, Grieco's boyhood sweetheart with her own secrets.
While not a classic film, THE APOSTATE has a tense and forboding atmosphere and with Grieco's performance achieves a quality we don't often get on straight to DVD films.
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