The tyranist's thoughts
I like my religious horror to be intelligent. I like movies that deal with the complexities of religion to be steeped in the particular mythos that they derive from. I like horror movies that use religion as a backdrop and cast member instead of as a plot point. I think they are scarier that way. And I happen to be a very curious person who is interested in religion.
Frankie Paige wakes up one morning after a decadent night out to find a package from her mother. It contains a rosary that belonged to a recently dead priest from South America. Shortly after this, the stigmata, signs of faith and internal torment related strictly to devout belief in Christ and his suffering, begin to appear on the otherwise atheistic Frankie. Send in Andrew Kiernan, an investigator based out of the Vatican, and let's see what happens.
I have to admit that when I saw the trailer for this way back in '99, I had less than no desire to see this. It just didn't look appealing. Having finally overcome that, though, I'm very glad that I finally got around to seeing this one. The plot is intriguing and at times very much not horror, but the entire situation that she finds herself is horrible. Imagine waking up one night in the hospital bleeding heavily from the wrists not knowing what did it? Sounds like the stuff of urban legends doesn't it.
The acting is nice if a little wooden at times, Patricia Arquette, Gabriel Byrne and Jonathan Pryce all contribute nicely. The script is well done and obviously well-thought out. The religion is fascinating, full of mysticism and old law, whereas the modern world that Frankie formerly dwelt in is overly neurotic in the way it jumps from moment to moment and has no memory.
I would highly recommend this one. I was pleasantly surprised and hopefully you will like it as well. I would recommend that you watch it with the director's original ending intact as it makes more sense and concludes the movie much more powerfully. Also, if you care to watch the deleted scenes, you'll note that they cut a few things that made the movie even more horror than it was. On the one hand, I think that's too bad, but on the other, I liked the movie so much that it can be forgiven.