Parable review.
South Africa delivers one of the rarest things around…an original possession movie. It may start out familiar…but by the time the third act rolls around…you’re in for a treat.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Parable
Directed by Beer Adriaanse
Written by Beer Adriaanse and Jaco Adriaanse
Starring Jane de Wet, Thapelo Aphiri, Carla Classen, Danny Meaker and Michael Richard
Parable Review
Parable gets off to a bit of a choppy start. It could have used some polish to make sure that its intended ideas were clearer. Once it finds its footing, however, it becomes engaging…and eventually…very fun. With a third act worth waiting for, Parable gives us something all too rare. A possession movie that does something new.
Esther (Jane de Wet) is sent off to a Christian Camp after her father catches her kissing another girl. Reverend Randall Day (Michael Richard) believes she is possessed by a demon. While attempting to exorcise the demon from her…he brings one forth that possesses her for real. Kasper (Jay Hlatshwaygo) begins to have dreams of the missing girl and sets out to find her. But will he be saving her…or releasing a demon?
We’ll get this part out of the way immediately: The third act of Parable has a lot of fun ideas. It becomes an entirely different movie. A movie that is more fun than the hour that comes before it. That’s not to say that there aren’t positives in the lead up to the third act. There are. It’s just such a fun time that it must be mentioned right away. Whatever you think of Parable’s choices before the turn…stay tuned.
That out of the way…Parable gives us a problematic lead character. While we get cut ins to Esther’s situation…tied up by the Reverend and his accomplice…Kasper is who we follow for most of Parable. The story of a good guy trying to do what he believes is right would have been too simple. Parable gives us a deeply flawed guy. The extend to which he is flawed isn’t revealed until we’re deep into the story…but it is hinted at from the start. Recently dumped by his girlfriend…the rumors about Kasper going around town don’t paint him in a positive light.
They cast a likable actor to play Kasper which only serves to muddy the waters. Either way, he is who we are riding with on this adventure. He becomes a part of this mess by accident. As the Reverend is pulling into the security estate where Kasper and his friends live…a hand reaches out from the back seat and scratches his hand. Esther’s hand…now possessed. That connection allows Esther to contact Kasper through his dreams.
Not that it motivates Kasper very much. Esther has to seduce him in his dreams more than once for him to seemingly remember that he’s supposed to be a hero. Even seeing the girl he dreamed about on the news (reported missing by her mother) doesn’t motivate him. The promise of sex, on the other hand…well it just further confirms we aren’t dealing with a traditional heroic lead.
Eventually, however, circumstances align for Kasper to act and try to save the girl. Of course…it’s not a helpless victim on the other end of those chains. It’s the demon possessing her. Esther is so desperate to escape that she gives all control to the demon. Doing so allows the demon to control people’s minds and lead them to where they are held captive. It’s a clever trick that possession movies usually don’t pull. The moment where the possessed lets the demon in.
Parable unfolds at a nice pace for two acts and then all the fun breaks loose. We’re not going to spoil anything here…but the climax of this movie is just fun ideas stacked on top of each other. One of the best “save what we’ve got until the end” movies to come around in a while. The cast is excellent to boot. An impressive feat in a movie where you aren’t sure if you should even be rooting for anyone.
There are enough unexpected moments in Parable to raise if above standard possession fare. But it is the third act that truly makes it memorable. It lulls you in. Distracts you with rescue missions and shady preachers to keep your eye off the true story. The story that will turn Parable into a fun, often funny, ride by the end. Even after the thrilling climax…I find myself thinking back to the choices made with Kasper’s character. This isn’t the first movie to position us with following a problematic male lead (hell…Psycho did that in 1960) and it won’t be the last. It does it well enough to justify itself. Maybe because, it turns out, we were rooting for hell to be unleashed all along.
Scare Value
Parable takes a bit of time to get going. Not because it isn’t interesting…but because it puts us with a lead character and makes you question whether you should side with him. It feels like an odd choice but once the movie hits second gear…there is a lot of fun to be had. I don’t know if problematic male lead is going to become a new subgenre of horror…but it is certainly on people’s minds lately. Here, it feels like a way to give the story something to talk about until it unleashes hell. Once it does…it becomes a great ride.
3.5/5
Parable Link
Available on VOD from Vudu and Amazon
