Perhaps the discovery of a buried, first-century church has something to do with the strange visions disturbing our young protagonist in The Gathering. Christina Ricci stars as Cassie, a young backpacker in rural England recovering from a bad case of amnesia, whose visions might not simply be dreams, but horrific premonitions of the inhabitants of the small town she’s visiting.
As the story unfolds, we find that the ancient church contains unique depictions of those who witnessed Christ’s crucifixion, and that the church had been buried several hundred years ago – on purpose. Meanwhile, Cassie still can’t remember why she was visiting the small town, but it turns out she may know a few of the townsfolk… and that’s not necessarily a good thing. The Gathering soon finds Cassie in a struggle between a killer with a suppressed past, and visions of what we hope are not the inevitable future.
Though the story contains the occasional gap and overt exposition, The Gathering smartly holds your interest with its historic and religious content, not to mention the English countryside which provides a beautiful backdrop to the film. Ricci gives a more-than-adept performance (she’s definitely in her element here!), and is teamed up nicely with Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four) as her like interest. Stephen Dillane (The Hours) and Kerry Fox (Intervention) also star in this film directed by Brian Gilbert (Not Without My Daughter).
The Gathering is definitely worth checking out, though try to ignore the fact that you’ll find it in the horror section at your local video store. The Gathering is actually a low-key, supernatural, suspense drama (whew!), with elements of The Sixth Sense and The Da Vinci Code, though it’s the film’s true originality that wins the day.
Mary K. Woods
http://feeds.feedburner.com/LaStory>
