The Visitation is set in a small American town where a recent spate of God like miracles have cured a crippled man, someones eyesight, healed physical scars & gave the whole town renewed hope. A young man named Brandon Nichols (Edward Furlong) admits he is the source of these miracles & the entire town falls in love with him as he cures their illnesses & ailments. Ex minister Travis Jordan (Martin Donovan) is very sceptical & mistrusting his wife having been murdered three years earlier, he recognises a man who was photographed at his wife's murder scene hanging around Brandon & feels the answer to his wife's unsolved murder may be near. As Travis investigates Brandon & his miracles he realises that Brandon isn't who he claims to be & that his miracles have a sinister reason behind them...
Directed by Robby Henson one has to say that The Visitation isn't a totally terrible film but at the same time isn't exactly a great one either, I can't say I particularly liked it but I can't say i particularly hated it either. The script by Brian Godawa & Frank Peretti bases itself around the supernatural & religion which does drown out the horror elements at times, The Visitation isn't that preachy & it doesn't try to convert it's audience to devout Christians but the religious symbolism & themes are clearly there for all to see. At 100 odd minutes in length The Visitation feels a lot longer which is never a good sign, it's a fairly slow going film at times & the film doesn't have much pace. The character's are alright if a little clichéd, I mean the ex minister who has to re-find his faith to stop a great evil? Where The Visitation really falls down is the ending, it's a bit of a mess really & things don't quite come together that well. There are many questions which remain unanswered, the twists are underwhelming & somewhat lazy, the basic plot isn't really explained & when the end credits roll it leaves you feeling a bit cheated.
Director Henson does alright, like a lot of films he bleaches almost all of the colour out of certain scenes which gives it a very mute colour palette. For the majority of The Visitation actor Edward Furlong playing Brandon wears a wig which makes him look like he has long hair but at the climax he suddenly appears with a shaven head for no apparent reason. It's never mentioned in the film whether his character was wearing a wig & he just took it off (if so why?) or whether during an evil ritual he just decided to get a hair cut! Strange & it's very noticeable. There's no blood or gore, there's a bit of language & a few cheap scare moments like a dog suddenly appearing at someones window barking it's head off but overall the story is too weak to give you nightmares.
According to the IMDb this had a budget of about $2,500,000 which is a hell of a lot of money, I can't really see where it all went to be honest. It looks like any other cheap straight-to-video/DVD release. Apparently filmed in Visalia in California. The acting isn't too bad at all which helps, has Edward Furlong been in a decent film after the brilliant Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)?
The Visitation is an average religious themed supernatural horror film, for me I didn't like it that much but it didn't dislike it that much either. I found it all a bit average & forgettable, watch something else like Stigmata (1999) instead which is a better religious supernatural themed horror film.
Directed by Robby Henson one has to say that The Visitation isn't a totally terrible film but at the same time isn't exactly a great one either, I can't say I particularly liked it but I can't say i particularly hated it either. The script by Brian Godawa & Frank Peretti bases itself around the supernatural & religion which does drown out the horror elements at times, The Visitation isn't that preachy & it doesn't try to convert it's audience to devout Christians but the religious symbolism & themes are clearly there for all to see. At 100 odd minutes in length The Visitation feels a lot longer which is never a good sign, it's a fairly slow going film at times & the film doesn't have much pace. The character's are alright if a little clichéd, I mean the ex minister who has to re-find his faith to stop a great evil? Where The Visitation really falls down is the ending, it's a bit of a mess really & things don't quite come together that well. There are many questions which remain unanswered, the twists are underwhelming & somewhat lazy, the basic plot isn't really explained & when the end credits roll it leaves you feeling a bit cheated.
Director Henson does alright, like a lot of films he bleaches almost all of the colour out of certain scenes which gives it a very mute colour palette. For the majority of The Visitation actor Edward Furlong playing Brandon wears a wig which makes him look like he has long hair but at the climax he suddenly appears with a shaven head for no apparent reason. It's never mentioned in the film whether his character was wearing a wig & he just took it off (if so why?) or whether during an evil ritual he just decided to get a hair cut! Strange & it's very noticeable. There's no blood or gore, there's a bit of language & a few cheap scare moments like a dog suddenly appearing at someones window barking it's head off but overall the story is too weak to give you nightmares.
According to the IMDb this had a budget of about $2,500,000 which is a hell of a lot of money, I can't really see where it all went to be honest. It looks like any other cheap straight-to-video/DVD release. Apparently filmed in Visalia in California. The acting isn't too bad at all which helps, has Edward Furlong been in a decent film after the brilliant Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)?
The Visitation is an average religious themed supernatural horror film, for me I didn't like it that much but it didn't dislike it that much either. I found it all a bit average & forgettable, watch something else like Stigmata (1999) instead which is a better religious supernatural themed horror film.