Review of Nefarious (2023) by Greenisgood — 12 Jul 2023

TL;DR - When the credits roll the story, performances, dialogue, and sheer theological implications of the plan set in motion by the so-called 'Nefarious' entity will reach deep down in you and send a wake-up to some, fear to many; even in the staunchest of beings it will in the least send a vibration to what we may call a soul.

The Good ____________________________________________________________________________________________ I am a fan of the Boondock Saints movie, it's brash, filled with action and violence being generally fun to watch but I have not really seen any other works of actor Sean Patrick Flanery. But this was a decent reminder as to why those two films were such a blast, even though he was just one part of the awesomeness in both the "Saints" movies, here he takes center stage and gets a chance to show his acting chops, and his performance kills it. Sean Patrick Flanery plays the convicted serial killer Edward Wyane Brady awaiting a psychiatric evaluation before his pending execution, the evaluation happening as the convict claims to be possessed by the demon who is the namesake of the movie "Nefarious".

Flanery/Edward/Nefarious's performance takes you down an absolute roller coaster of emotions, surprisingly making you feel things for a supposed convicted killer I never thought I would feel, hopefully, this role gives him a decent platform to many better appearances as he definitely does have more to share with the world as an actor. Sean is backed by a great performance by the evaluator Dr. James Martin played by Jordan Belfi, who also turns in an impressive performance pitting his atheist scientific mind against a battle of wits, beliefs, and truths against the demon possessing the convict.

This is a minimalistic story where 90% of the plot takes place in a single room, with next to no special effects of any kind that you would normally associate with a possession movie. This is one of those films that rely on absolutely great dialogue writing and outstanding performances by both actors. They truly sell the whole possession angle with nothing but sheer acting and one measly lightbulb shorting out.

This is a minimalistic story where 90% of the plot takes place in a single room, with next to no special effects of any kind that you would normally associate with a possession movie. This is one of those films that rely on absolutely great dialogue writing and outstanding performances by both actors. They truly sell the whole possession angle with nothing but sheer acting and one measly lightbulb shorting out.

It will be a riveting experience for people of all walks regardless of their religion, beliefs, or race, equivalent to an experience that you would have had from the amazing Phonebooth 2003, just with a slight veneer of religion, regardless of the minimalism the two actors manage to sell the bigger picture of this massive war between good and evil with flying colours.

The Bad.

There was an aspect of pro-life propaganda that does show up in the movie, when it came up my mind did start to wander thinking that was the point, but the movie will bring you back to the bigger picture quickly if you allow the scene to play out. There is a point to this part existing in the story and selling the whole possible possession evaluation.

The director duo does have the most Christian propaganda film known to mainstream media, Konzelman and Solomon have the "God's Not Dead" films tied to them which in most mainstream media is more of a Hammer on the Head level of religious messaging/vehicle for the grandiose awesomeness of Christianity, and is generally considered more propaganda than films. Regardless, this movie is as farthest from that kind of stuff as it can even be.

If this movie was designed to be a vehicle like the "Gods Not Dead" series, I am happy to see that this fails at being the same.

Conclusion.

I was glad at the end that I did not read up as I normally would on who the directors/writers were or who the actors were as the whole cast is generally not well known aside from the previously mentioned roles and TV roles before watching the movie. Even the plot was generally a two-line description that I read just before I started my watch. I would also suggest the same if you do decide to watch the film.

I would urge you to put aside your knowledge of the background of the director duo if you are already aware of it and give the movie a chance, give the actors a chance as this is definitely a sleeper/under-the-radar great watch that does often tend to leave a bigger impression than you would have expected.

A must-watch at least once recommendation.