The Veil is a 2016 American supernatural horror film directed by Phil Joanou (Amazing Stories) from a screenplay by Robert Ben Garant (Jessabelle; Hell Baby). Jason Blum served as a producer through his company Blumhouse Productions.
The film stars Jessica Alba (The Eye; Idle Hands), Lily Rabe (American Horror Story) and Thomas Jane (The Predator; Before I Wake; The Tripper).
Twenty five years after members of Heaven’s Veil, a religious cult, commit suicide, documentary filmmaker Maggie Price contacts the sole survivor, Sarah Hope, to film a documentary about what really happened. Sarah, who was five years old when she was found at the scene, accepts when she learns that Maggie has found evidence that never-recovered footage exists.
Maggie’s brother, Christian, explains that their father was the FBI agent who led the investigation. Shortly after discovering the mass suicide, he committed suicide, driving Maggie and Christian to learn the truth.
With her crew, Maggie takes Sarah to the site of the cult’s suicide. They shoot footage of Sarah’s reaction to coming back and are concerned when she collapses, overwhelmed by memories and ghostly visions…
Reviews:
“With a genuinely unsettling performance from Thomas Jane, The Veil shows Joanou’s seasoned filmmaking mentality on display to craft a fair share of effective macabre moments, even if it’s between tired found footage material and some clunkier patchwork editing.” Ken W. Hanley, Fangoria
“It looks great, with blue-tinged widescreen images of ominousness, well-staged 1985 flashbacks and a couple of semi-workable scares, but it’s a predictable, pat programmer.” Kim Newman, Electric Sheep
“While The Veil might sound like a ghastly reincarnation of the Jonestown massacre, it’s nothing but another mindless sheep stuck in a massive herd. Thomas Janes rambles on in the most frighteningly enlightened of ways, but his controlling dramatics aren’t enough to fight through a weightless delivery that underwhelms and bores.” Matt Donato, We Got This Covered
“Casting Jane as Jacobs is a stroke of brilliance: He’s on fire as the evangelistic spiritual spearhead, spouting his religious rhetoric with just the right mix of crazy and compelling. The Veil could have been a truly scary supernatural thriller about the power of a collective consciousness, but instead it’s just a halfway decent time waster…” Staci Layne Wilson, Dread Central
Buy: Amazon.co.uk
Cast and characters:
- Jessica Alba as Maggie Price
- Lily Rabe as Sarah Hope
- Ivy George as Little Sarah
- Aleksa Palladino as Karen Sweetzer
- Reid Scott as Nick
- Thomas Jane as Jim Jacobs
- Shannon Woodward as Jill
- Jack DeSena as Christian Price
- Meegan Warner as Ann
- Lenny Jacobson as Ed
- David Sullivan as Matt
- Amber Friendly as Sam
- Jim Storm as Dan Wheeler
