36
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70VarietyOwen GleibermanVarietyOwen GleibermanThe Unholy is a good tight scary commercial theological horror film. Its spooks and demons unfurl within a pop version of Christianity, which makes it sound no more exotic than last week’s “Exorcist” knockoff or last year’s helping of the “Conjuring” franchise. But The Unholy has a religious plot that actually works for it.
- 50Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreThe effects are top notch and there are some chills in it. It’s just that the picture loses itself and any momentum it has in “explaining” these wonders and healings as the work of a Mary who isn’t the “Virgin Mary” all involved assume it is.
- 50IGNKristy PuchkoIGNKristy PuchkoThere are moments in The Unholy that strive for shocking, even sacrilegious. But Spiliotopoulos lacks either the imagination or the guts to create something truly soul-rattling.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyAfter an intriguing setup that takes its time building atmosphere and characters, declining to rush the first death, the film becomes progressively more overwrought and hokey. It also loads up on derivative tropes that worked better everywhere from Ringu through The Conjuring Universe.
- 45SlashfilmChris EvangelistaSlashfilmChris EvangelistaWhenever The Unholy wants to scare you, it simply enters internet screamer territory, complete with ghoul faces rushing directly into the camera as loud noises boom from somewhere. Outside of these admittedly startling moments, The Unholy unfolds sedately, and sometimes incoherently.
- 45The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzEventually, The Unholy reveals itself not to be an entertaining ride to Hell but an earnest sales pitch for the power of Christ. Fair enough. But for Easter 2021, I was hoping for something a little more enjoyably demonic and less been-there-redeemed-that. Let us pray.
- 40Los Angeles TimesRobert DanielsLos Angeles TimesRobert DanielsLaboriously paced, the indulgent jolts and bloodless scares, neither deeply rooted nor artfully raised, float as lifelessly as a lily pad on a bog.
- 40Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganScreen DailyFionnuala HalliganThis religious-themed horror based around the phenomena of Marian apparitions has an intriguing premise but cuts too many corners in its catechism.
- 30The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisPlaying the evil entity with convulsive movements and a killer manicure, the contortionist Marina Mazepa turns in the movie’s most entertaining performance. That’s if you don’t count Morgan looking genuinely baffled as to what he’s doing here at all.
- 20The GuardianBenjamin LeeThe GuardianBenjamin LeeIf the devil did exist then surely he’d have the power to destroy films as dull as this.