She Who Must Burn, 2015.
Directed by Larry Kent.
Starring Sarah Smyth, Shane Twerdun, Missy Cross, James Wilson and Jim Francis.
SYNOPSIS:
Angela (Sarah Smyth) sets up her own home medical clinic, after her previous Planned Parenthood doctor colleague was shot to death by anti-abortion protester Abraham Baarker (James Wilson). This puts her directly in increasingly violent conflict with the rest of the Baarker family, who believe that she is performing abortions in a very religious town plagued by unexplained still-born births.
Larry Kent’s shocker She Who Must Burn is a slow cook thriller with some nasty, inventive shocks that put it on par with similarly themed religious horrors such as The Sacrament and Red State. It tackles some pretty weighty topics such as abortion, rape, spousal abuse and Christian fundamentalism.
It attempts to juggle the plights and worldview of a diverse group, and it takes its time establishing the conflict at the heart of its story. Unfortunately, its lean 90 minute run-time really hurts the opportunity to develop many of the potentially interesting characters at the heart of She Who Must Burn. While there are some notably fantastic performances, cinematography and a powerful climax; it struggles to really make a point or a memorable stand on any of the issues presented.
Larry Kent and Shane Twerdun’s underwritten script is salvaged by a mostly excellent cast, who compensate for this failing by delivering their lines with the appropriate amount of over the top bombast. While Shane Twerdun as Jeremiah isn’t especially nuanced in his role as the chief Christian zealot; he delivers his lines with a good amount of pantomime gusto. It’s Missy Cross who really shines here as Jeremiah’s sister Rebecca Baarker, who is somewhat sympathetic as a prisoner of faith, victim of some of the more unfortunate events of the film, as well as a wild-eyed loon. Missy puts in double duty by singing the majority of the tracks on the excellent Gospel tinged soundtrack.
The biggest let down here is how one-sided the arguments are, the Baarker family are presented as an hypocritical, fanatical cult. Angela is supposed to be the heroine of the story but is easily the least compelling character with the most obvious soundbites spoken as dialogue, ‘it’s a woman’s right to choose’. This is a real shame because Sarah Smyth is clearly a very capable actress; this is evident in the very violent final act where the slow burn drama descends into real horror. Sarah really conveys upsetting anguish during some of these climatic scenes.
Despite my problems with the script She Who Must Burn is still an entertaining exercise in slow dread. It has some excellent photography showcasing the desolation of Middle America, great music and some impressive gore. It’s a victim of the constraints of its 90 minute run time; with additional scenes and another draft of the script it could have been something really special rather than just flirting with greatness.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Mark Bartlett– Follow me on Twitter
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Originally published August 18, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
