From writer and director Mark O’Brien, The Righteous delivers a cozy horror film built out of predictable religious fare. The close-up portrait of a couple in mourning confronted with their past and the unexpected, the film may not be asking new questions but certainly still packs a punch. Relying on its intense and compelling script, solid performances from all involved, and a striking visual aesthetic, The Righteous delivers a tense thriller that’ll keep viewers invested until the bitter end.
The Righteous stars Henry Czerny as Frederic Mason, a former priest who left the clergy and is living with his wife, Mimi Kuzyk’s Ethel Mason, as the pair grieve the death of their daughter. One night, a young man, Mark O'Brien’s Aaron Smith, approaches the couple’s isolated home, injured and asking for help. Frederic initially balks at bringing the man into his house, immediately setting up the tension that comes with the arrival of this stranger. As Aaron seems to worm his way into the Mason household, he starts conversations with Frederic that arouse suspicion and, eventually, tear this couple apart.
The black-and-white film dives into the gray middle ground of human nature. While the culpability of religious leaders and the horrors and atrocities committed under the banner of godliness have been a longstanding trope in the horror genre, The Righteous ekes out a new corner for itself. Here religious indiscretion is just the background against which the thriller takes place, and while it provides a meaningful backbone for the movie, it's by no means weight-bearing. The story it’s telling may not be unique, but its presentation is utterly compelling and brings viewers along until the violent end.
Part of the draw of The Righteous is its intimate focus. This is a dialogue-heavy film, and most of the narrative work is done in one-on-one conversations. To stake so much on a script is risky, but it pays off for The Righteous. The strange and strained relationships between Aaron and the Masons, the quick non-sequiturs that guide the dialogue, and the memories that build out the backstory of these characters all land and pull the viewer deeper into this tale.
The stark black-and-white photography adds to the unsettling feel of The Righteous, as well. For a story about degrees of moral corruption, the color scheme certainly adds metaphor to each scene. The limited color selection also wraps each of these heavy-lifting conversations in shadow, ramping up the tension even during seemingly innocuous scenes. With occasionally vivid angles that throw the stage off-kilter and haunting framing that, while not subtle, certainly adds to the experience, The Righteous is a visual journey.
While everything in The Righteous was set up for success, with a compelling script and a strong visual style, ensuring that the cast could bring the story to life was crucial for the film. Luckily, Czerny and Kuzyk are electrifying as the Masons, and O’Brien’s Aaron adds another strong performance. The Righteous may not surprise with its twists, but it tells a strong story wrapped in a cohesive aesthetic that together provide tension and thrills that are well worth a watch. O’Brien clearly has an eye for substance and style that he lent to The Righteous, which will leave viewers eagerly anticipating his next project.
The Righteous is available to stream now on ARROW.