"The Order" is a halfhearted "supernatural thriller"%u2014interpret as not an actual "horror" movie...
The Order (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:56
Fresh:5
Rotten:51
Average Rating:2.9/10
Consensus: A religious thriller that's more lethargic and silly than thrilling.
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Synopsis:
For centuries, a secret Order has existed within the Church. Following a series of unexplained murders, a renegade priest (Heath Ledger) begins an investigation that hurls him into a maelstrom of...
For centuries, a secret Order has existed within the Church. Following a series of unexplained murders, a renegade priest (Heath Ledger) begins an investigation that hurls him into a maelstrom of unimaginable evil, murder and the knowledge that there is a fate worse than death.
The priest's search takes him to The Sin Eater – a key figure in this mysterious and ancient Order. The immortal Sin Eater's role is nothing less than playing God on earth by absolving the unforgivable of their sins outside the Church, allowing great evil to go unpunished. Burdened with centuries of evil, The Sin Eater craves the luxury of death. But who will eat his sins and grant eternal peace? Who will carry on his dark tradition and continue the work of the Order? As the young priest uncovers the answers and pursues these paragons of evil, he fights to save his own soul and that of the woman he loves.
Twentieth Century Fox presents a Baumgarten Merims production, THE ORDER. The film is written, produced and directed by Academy Award® winner Brian Helgeland, and produced by Craig Baumgarten. Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Mark Addy, Benno Fürmann, and Peter Weller star in the film. -- © 20th Century Fox
Starring: Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Mark Addy, Benno Furmann
Starring: Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Mark Addy, Benno Furmann, Peter Weller
Director: Brian Helgeland
Director: Brian Helgeland
Screenwriter: Brian Helgeland
Producer: Brian Helgeland, Craig Baumgarten
Composer: David Torn
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Reviews for The Order
This has to be one of the most inconsequential films dealing with religion ever made.
... it has a curious disorder, one that makes it both interesting and pallid.
It's preposterous, silly rather than frightening, and the performances and characterizations have a pot-boiler feel.
Frequently descends into unintentional hilarity, nervous camp, and eventually exasperation.
As the movie’s promotion intimates, ‘There is a fate worse than death,’ and you got it – it’s sitting through this movie.
A miserably dark and sluggish picture to endure. Helgeland and his stars have hopefully observed last rites on this and moved on to bigger and (especially) better things.
...the movie makes little sense even for a guy more than willing to suspend his disbelief, as I was.
From the casting to the plot to the monologues that come off sounding like SNL jokes, everything here is just plain sloppy.
The film’s failed gothic look is just ugly, so forcibly dank that important details, like which characters are in a certain scene, sometimes get lost.
In what church is Heath Ledger a priest? And who are the nuns - Heather Graham and Tara Reid?
All the fine cinematography can't hide the sad fact that the second half of the film delivers none of the shocks and starts required of atmospheric horror.
The Order is scuzzy and lazy, such a muddle that no one really need be offended. Actually, no one need even bother with it all. That’s why I’m being paid in this space, to spare you the temptation.
Most bad horror movies at least offer the compensation of being unconsciously funny. The Order just makes you wish you were unconscious.
The ABC's of the plot are nearly mystifying, and once you have everything figured out you'll realize that the end result was hardly worth all the effort.
There are scenes where you think the bulb has gone out in the projector.
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