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Cast: Rugter Hauer, Stuart Brennan, Giovanni Lombardo Radice
Level 33 Entertainment announces the release of the acclaimed horror film The Reverend on DVD and VOD February 11, 2014. Starring Stuart Brennan (Risen), Tamer Hassan (Batman Begins), Doug Bradley (Hellraiser:Bloodline) and Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner), this soul-scorching film has an SRP of $14.98 and is available on Amazon.com, iTunes and other retail and rental outlets across the U.S.
Written and directed by Neil Jones, The Reverend tells a cautionary tale of belief in the sacred while facing the temptations of the flesh. After delivering his first sermon in a new, small parish, a new Reverend (Brennan) is visited by a beautiful young woman (Emily Booth) who suddenly attacks him, biting his throat. He survives the attack, but awakes with an unknown, uncontrollable thirst. As the Reverend becomes more familiar with his congregation and the wider community, he realizes that this idyllic little town is anything but. It is plagued by drugs, prostitution and violence. The Reverend decides to put his new-found bloodlust to good use with horrific results.
"The Reverend" is about a young man is assigned first parish in a small village in the country. At first the village seems like a quiet little place but that is because everyone is too afraid to speak up or do anything about the criminal activities that are going on. That is until The Reverend is attacked and bitten by a vampire. But instead of feeding off the innocent he decides to use his new found curse to do some good by cleaning the small village up and disposing of the criminals that run it.
"The Reverend" is a low budget British film that takes an over done genre and adds some creativity and originality to it. Sure it has it flaws and I can sit here and rant about them all I want but there is more to like here than not so I would rather focus on the good stuff. For starters I liked how the film's main character decided to become a vigilante instead of a killer after becoming a vampire, this good guy take really has you rooting for him the entire time. Another thing I liked about the film was its ability to make the most of the limited budget it had, the effects all pretty well done all things considered and it doesn't try to do more than it has to. Instead it sticks to telling a good story with well developed characters.
Speaking of characters the cast is another plus here. I need to say first that Rutger Hauer basically has a cameo in the film as does the great Doug Bradley so do not expect to see much of them in the film. But do expect to see lots of the film's lead actor, Stuart Brennan who does a terrific job playing The Reverend as does Emily Booth who is excellent as well as the prostitute he sets out to help and protect. And the rest of the supporting cast all did a great job as well.
So I can safely say that I liked the bit quite a bit, I liked that it took a vampire and made him a good guy, this was a departure from the norm and a welcomed one as well. So if you like a good vampire flick but are a bit tired of the same old stuff all the time I suggest giving this one a shot, it breaths new life into a genre that has become a bore as of late. This is an entertaining and original film that is sure to please fans.
Available on DVD, you can order it HERE.
Released by Level 33 Entertainment
**** Out Of *****
THE REVEREND -- L33 TRAILER from Level 33 Entertainment on Vimeo.