Intermission: Bad points overshadow good ones in 'The Order'

Jim Wunderle works at Associated Video Producers and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.

Some of the most intense, and scary, horror films have been set against religious backdrops. "The Exorcist," "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Omen" come immediately to mind. Then there are films like "Stigmata," or the dreadful "Exorcist II."

Somewhere in the middle resides Brian Helgeland's latest effort as a writer/director, "The Order." The film features a few jump-out-of-your-seat moments and a high level of the creepiness factor (a good thing in a horror film), but is so muddled and mired in incomprehensible, arcane religious dogma that its good points are ultimately overshadowed by its bad ones. Considering Helgeland's pedigree as a screenwriter he wrote the amazing "L.A. Confidential" it's all the more surprising the script never comes together in any cohesive order.

Originally titled "The Sin Eater," the film was held back for a while by the studio, but on the strength of "The DaVinci Code" a novel which features a handful of religious conspiracy theories and is currently enjoying top 10 status 20th Century Fox decided to take advantage of the moment.

You can't blame them for timing their release, but one idiosyncrasy that most people who follow film eventually notice about major movie releases is this: Beware if the film company doesn't have pre-release screenings for critics and other members of the press. It usually means they want no viewer to be forewarned. Fox kept "The Order" under wraps until the very day of its national release. Call it "conspiracy theory" if you will, but suspicions ran high.

"The Sin Eater" would have been a more apt title for "The Order," as the plot is centered squarely on one such being. In now-denounced, historical Catholic doctrine, a sin eater was one with the power to absolve people who had committed mortal sins or who had been excommunicated.

The sin eater, for a price falling just short of selling one's soul, would take on the sins of his client. This of course meant the sin eater had, excuse the phrase, hell to pay when it came his time to die. So, out of sheer survival instinct, the sin eater found ways to become nearly immortal. When he wearied of his work, the sin eater's trick was to find someone to eat his sins and then assume the role.

Not many still believe in such things, but one order, the Carolingians, have kept this, as well as many other arcane beliefs, alive. The trouble is, the Carolingians are down to three in number and the eldest, who has schooled the two younger priests, has died. It's an apparent suicide (a mortal sin) but Father Alex Bernier, now one of only two Carolingians, notices some strange marks on the body and after some research, believes his mentor enlisted a sin eater on his deathbed.

Other more traditional, and powerful, priests send Father Alex to Rome to tidy up matters and put rumors to rest. Helping him is Father Thomas Garrett, the other surviving member of the order, and a layperson, Mara Sinclair.

Sinclair has just been "released" from a mental hospital, and we find that she and Alex have a history. She tried to kill him at an exorcism ritual being performed on her brother. We know these two are in love and destined to be together.

The trail leads Alex to Saint Peter's in Rome where he encounters the sin eater. This guy looks quite dapper and well heeled for 600 years old and has amassed quite a sum of wealth (and collective sins) over the past six centuries. He tells Alex he's merely weary, but the whole sin eating gig is a pretty good one. He offers Alex the honor of taking over for him.

Alex is tempted, but we already know there are other sinister forces at work here. Let's not congratulate ourselves for being astute; when "The Order" isn't being entirely jumbled, it's being painfully obvious. I never doubted for one minute who the man under the hood in the rather dank underground anti-cathedral was, nor what the sin eater was up to or why.

As mentioned above, there are a few really jarring moments, and the scenes in the bizarre underground temple made me feel uneasy and somewhat grimy. The cinematography is rich and effective as well.

While it would be hard to achieve the status of "The Exorcist," a film by which all other horror films especially religious-themed horror films must be judged, I was really hoping for a lot more.

A year from now, when "The Order" is available for home viewing and Halloween is looming and "The Exorcist," "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Omen" are already rented it will probably be worth a look. But as a major motion picture release in a season with some decent offerings on the way, it's not quite in order.