In 1986 Father Alister Burke (Lalor Roddy) paints a picture of young Siobhan Callahan in front of an old statue of the Virgin Mary (broken left hand, thumb missing on right). Overnight, Siobhan disappears in real life and from the painting. Pretty good Twilight Zone stuff. We then move to the present where diorama sculpturer Melanie Thomas has recreated the event. This leads to an invite by Father Burke, retired and a recluse except for his Lurch-like butler and Helena Bereen who runs the manor. Melanie is commissioned to make another diorama for a select group of old money buyers.

Melanie has bad dreams and visions and we see it coming. There wasn't any mystery or twist. The film moves slow. The characters were okay, but not great. Seems like someone found a great location to make a film and wrote a story for it.

Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.

If you're into fairy tales and suspense and Celtic mythology, but not into gore or action for the sake of action, this is a good movie. It's what you might find if a fairy tale or a curse involving the Good People found a way of persisting into the modern world. The horror lies in the concept, not in visual gore or a scream fest. If that's what you like, this movie is for you! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is really an intriguing little horror gem. It centers on an artist from America who creates a series of sculptures based on famous missing person cases. One of them spotlights a priest whom painted a portrait of a young girl who ended up disappearing both from her home and the picture. The priest contracts her with the promise to buy her piece inspired by him, commission a new work and have all her pieces sold to wealthy investors at a private auction. Upon arriving strange things begin to happen including strange dreams and weird happenings that lead her to believe the offer isn't genuine and something more sinister is afoot. It all leads up to a shocking and unexpected conclusion. It's definitely a religious horror film but plays like a strange Lynchian thriller. It's not perfect the pacing is a struggle at times but it has an engaging, dread induced atmosphere that feels otherworldly at times.

3.5/5