Stigmata (1999)

 

    Happy Tuesday y'all! Wishing everyone a speedy week so that you can get to the weekend faster. This week's review was random, I must admit. After perusing a few titles, I decided to finally watch the movie 5-year old me wanted to watch. When I was a toddler, my aunt owned a video store in Mexico whom I visited almost every single day whenever I was down there. I have fond memories of watching the latest films and studying the covers of VHS tapes of all genres. Looking back, it was some of the best times of my childhood. Of course, I spent a lot of time in the horror section but I wasn't allowed to watch them so I analyzed the cover of every tape and tried to read the back as much as I could at kindergarten level. One of the films that grabbed my attention was Stigmata. It was one of the most anticipated films in 1999 and the cover was something I couldn't wrap my head around. Sadly, I never got around to watching it as I grew older before my aunt closed up shop. Fast forward over 20 years later I found it on Tubi and this time without an adult's disapproval. No one could stop me.

    Stigmata was released on September 10th, 1999 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Rupert Wainwright. The film was written by Tom Lazarus. I don't know very much about pre-production, production, or...anything interesting other than it initially received very negative reviews. Even so, the film tripled its budget in earnings after its release. One review I read states "the my chemical romance fanfic based on this is vastly superior" and I will have to agree.

    An atheist, young woman by the name of Frankie is suddenly suffering from terrible hallucinations and experiences while beginning to show signs of the wounds Jesus Christ himself suffered from at the time of his crucifixion. Father Derning, who is a scientist as well, is sent from the Vatican after they receive word of this poor woman's misfortunes.

    Religious horror films are usually a hit or miss but growing up in a Mexican Catholic household I feel that I'll always have an attachment to them no matter what I think. In fact, they are perhaps my second favorite horror sub-genre. It was overwhelmingly 90's and you can take that however you want to. That being said, the soundtrack was also overwhelmingly 90's because it was crazy. I later found out Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins was behind it and it all made sense at that moment. I didn't hate nor love it, to be completely honest, but I appreciated it was unorthodox for the nature of the film. It was heavily sensual which created tension in the right moments and alleviation in others. I find sensuality to be a more engaging tool in horror than sexually but that's a topic for another day. Personally, I believe it was an appropriate touch to the story and one I thoroughly fancy. Cinematography and imagery are the only categories of this film I deem to be A+. I understand religious imagery is not for everyone but I believe this was one of the strongest points of the film and can be enjoyed by many. If you romantized the hell out of The Exorcist, this is exactly what you'd get. While I heavily praise the strong points, it was also its downfall. Everything from the soundtrack, acting, special effects, and some parts of the story were heavily and unecessarily amplified. It was obvious the aforementioned were dramaticized to support a weak story. I do want to emphasize the film was heavily dramatic. As a result, the film became quite boring about half way through when it all begins to wear off and the story went nowhere. 

    The film certainly had potential and I can say that about another exorcism-esque story. The pros became cons. 5-year old me is bummed but pleased I finally got around to watching it. I only recommend Stigmata if you're a fan of religious imagery, can make time for a silly movie, and find comfort in 90's horror. Otherwise, I don't know if I truly recommend it!

My overall rating is 5/10 based on:

-Imagery

-Themes

-Sensuality

-Cinematography

    Stigmata is perhaps the first film on this blog I'm indifferent to. We've been hitting quite some milestones lately. Speaking of milestones, June marks my 3rd month running this blog. What a ride it's been! It is also time to vote for this month's horror film review. You can place your vote here:

    http://poll-maker.com/poll4384187xd9Aa43Eb-138

    Poll will close Saturday, June 25th so that I can post it the following week.

    Thank you again for reading! I've been having a blast lately. You are always welcome to send me suggestions for polls or upcoming reviews. I'm a woman of equal opportunity and will prioritize your suggestions over mine. Now is a good chance as well since I don't have anything lined up for this weekend!

Stay safe and make wise decisions!

-CL