Released on July 25, 2010, The Shrine is definitely an interesting one. For a Canadian movie, it’s pretty decent. I’m going to say this now: it’s far from a perfect movie. It is flawed. It could have been better. HOWEVER, there are some things to like about it. The story is pretty cool, the theme is very morbid, and anyone looking for a decent gore-fest will probably like this one.
Starring Aaron Ashmore, Cindy Sampson, and Meghan Heffern.
Plot Overview
Carmen, A journalist, travels to a fictional village in Poland to investigate a few disappearances. Her intern and boyfriend accompany her.
When they arrive in Alvania, they are met with an incredibly unwelcoming group of villagers, many of whom don’t even speak English.
Carmen visits the mother of one of the men who disappeared and ends up borrowing the man’s journal, from which she gets some clues.
After some looking around, they come across a spooky, foggy forest which they venture into. It is after entering this forest that they learn the many horrifying secrets that this town is harbouring.
My Thoughts
This movie is certainly… unique. The budget was pretty low, and I do think that shows. The special effects, while not atrocious, are average. The acting, again, not terrible, but it could have been better. What makes this movie shine (in my humble opinion) is the storyline and the gore factor.
While not terribly original on the surface, as you go deeper it becomes a little more complex and a lot more engaging. A missing persons story line is common enough, but what is a little more unique is the amount of traveling this journalist does to investigate.
Another good thing (depending on your perspective) is the amount of blood! It doesn’t start out this way, but as you near the end the appetite for blood possessed by every gore addict will no doubt be satisfied.
While the beginning was a tad slow, once you start piecing everything together, you become that much more enthralled. Once I got past the start, this movie really did have my heart beating. While not really action-packed, it’s exciting in its own way.
Throughout the movie, the trio encounters many Polish speaking people who they interact with – and NO subtitles are provided. The characters do not know what’s being said, and neither do we. I found this to be very frustrating as I felt like I was missing out on important parts of the plot. Turns out, that is pretty much the point. This adds a great deal of confusion for the characters and gives viewers a wonderful little bit of mystery and apprehension. Once this movie gets going, the tension really builds and builds, all the way up to the gloriously bloody final scene.
Now, I might be SLIGHTLY biased seeing as this was Canadian made (Canadian here, in case you didn’t guess) but I do believe there are some things to like about this movie.
One of the things I appreciated most was the ending. It’s a real twist, and definitely not in the way you’d think. Betrayal and loyalty become one in the same – and this WILL make sense if you watch through to the end.
Have you ever seen The Shrine? What do you think?
Want to Watch?
It is available for purchase on Amazon:
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Hey Steph… This really sounds like my type of movie! I haven’t heard of The Shrine before but I love B horror movies and Europe plus I’m Canadian too so I guess that is just the icing on the cake for me. I’m definitely going to check this movie out. Do you know if there are any new horror movies coming out soon?
I hope you enjoy it! I sure did!
As for new movies, I do know that they’re coming out with a sequel for The Conjuring as well as a third Purge movie. Both are set to hit theaters in July of this year I believe. I’m pretty exited for both of those!
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Thank you! 🙂
I can remember watching this when it first came out as I was unreliably told it was a found footage horror – my addiction!
I was a little disappointed at first but the more the film went on the more and more I enjoyed it. Your right about the budget – not that high…but they certainly made the most out of it! 7.5 out of 10 for me – not a bad effort at all ( especially compared to some of the big budget offerings these days! )
Glad to hear you enjoyed the movie! I like a good found footage film as well, but The Shrine is definitely not one haha
i’ve heard of this movie but never got a chance to check it out. sometimes i like low budget horror movies just because while they aren’t always executed in the best ways, i appreciate that there are those lowkey films where it seems like they put a good amount of effort into developing the story and making it more than just a gore-fest. and sometimes the bad acting makes it a little more entertaining in some cases.