Length:
93 minutes
Release
Date: January 19, 2016
Rating:
R
Director:
Phil Joanou
Heaven's
Veil was a religious cult along the lines of the People's Temple.
Their leader – Jim Jacobs – convinced them all to kill themselves
because the end of the world was coming. The only survivor was a
young girl named Sarah. Maggie and her brother Christian are the
children of the FBI agent who investigated the event and they have
evidence that was never made public. They convince Sarah to go back
to the cult grounds to film a documentary about what really happened
there.
Things
go about as well as you might expect. Sarah is so overwhelmed with
being back there that she passes out a few times, which is odd since
she keeps saying that she doesn't have any real memories. They camp
outside in tents, but on the first night, one of the crew members
goes missing. They later find a tape made by a former member of the
cult where she mentions Sarah and talks about how she has no control
over herself. Turns out the woman is actually Sarah's mother and that
she was the only member never found, though they do eventually find
her body.
After
wandering around and investigating the property, they find a hidden
room and a series of tapes Jim made. Sarah has some memories of the
room though she can't recall exactly what they did there. The tapes
show Jim talking about how he uncovered the secret to everlasting
life. He claimed to find a drug that would make the spirit leave the
body and then return, which he demonstrated on tape. As more unusual
things happen, the group wonders if the property is haunted or if,
perhaps, there is more to the story than they ever expected.
You
can't talk about The Veil without singling out Lily Rabe. Best know
now for her performances on American Horror Story, she does an
excellent job of playing Sarah. You never know quite what's going on
in her mind, whether she remembers everything that happened there, or
if she really is just a confused woman with a horrible tragedy.
As great
at Rabe was in the movie, I think Thomas Jane did an even better job.
Jim Jones was so charismatic that watching footage today makes you
get why so many people agreed to follow him. It's like someone gave
Jane a script and told him to play Jones even more over the top. He
does such a great job of channeling that man that it took me 30
minutes to realize it was him. He's done a lot of bad movies lately,
but he's really at his best here. Some might say that he is too over
the top, but I think he did a great job.
The
ending of The Veil was a little cheesy, but given the rest of the
movie, I think it worked. Looking back on it now, I'm not sure there
was a better way to end it. While it isn't the strongest horror movie
out there, it just might make you wonder what else Jim Jones had up
his sleeve...
The Veil
is currently streaming on Netflix.
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