REVIEW: WAY OF THE WICKED

"When the sons of the fallen came upon the daughters of men they bore the way of the wicked." An opening gambit that reads infinitely more interesting than the tagline for Kevin Carraway's latest low-budget horror movie. 'Evil Never Dies', anyone? Is that a fact? Well, as the filmmakers so eloquently put it, evil never dies but film careers do. 

Remember when Christian Slater was the epitome of cool? Now he's playing heroic priests in inexplicably dull horror movies. Remember when Vinnie Jones had the world at his feet? Ok, so that's a bit of a stretch, but Vinnie Jones stars alongside Slater in the straight-to-DVD feature that riffs on The Omen and Carrie.

Here's a twist for you. Christian Slater plays a holier than thou priest and Vinnie Jones plays the part of a doting father. He's still a cop of course but the role of John Elliott is as close to 'affecting' as Vinnie is likely to get. He's one of the best things about the movie as well, which will be hard to believe for anybody still reeling from his performance in X-Men: The Last Stand. 

After an inexplicable murder occurs in a small, isolated community, Father Henry goes to a local police detective with a theory on why the murder, and crimes that took place several years before, are occurring.

Vinnie is better here than he has any right to be, Slater on the other hand barely registers. He's not really involved though, taking a backseat to the teen cast and a plodding script that lacks inspiration. 

Leading lady Emily Tennant (Heather) deserves better, but her relationship with Robbie (Jake Croker) lacks conviction. It doesn't help that Jake Croker is a personality vacuum, mistaking creepy for intriguing at every turn and lacking both the charisma and charm to pull off the role of captivating outsider.

With the best of intentions I found myself drifting as the lack of development become more and more frustrating. Carrie built to a devastating climax, The Omen was drenched in religious subtext and grand ambition. Way of the Wicked feels like a watershed version of Dawson's Creek. 

A ridiculous twist seals the film's fate, raising questions about the validity of what we've seen but failing to implant the desire to found out why. As the film reaches its ludicrous climax one of the characters says, "The cop and the priest. You two should have your own sitcom."

Now there's an idea...