Theological horror film The Binding is a mature but derivative shocker
There was a movie directed by Michael Tolkin released in 1991 called The Rapture starring Mimi Rogers and a pre-The X Files David Duchovny that was well-received and even a bit controversial upon release, but has since seemingly fallen off the radar.
It’s very, very good.
The Rapture sees Rogers (in the performance of her career) as a hedonistic woman who surrenders to wanton sex and substance abuse and then suddenly finds Jesus. It happens. Born again, she begins to hear the voice from God, telling her that the end of the world is nigh and demanding she follow his instructions. Which she does.
Spoilers ahead, so feel free to skip the next italicized paragraph:
When she abandons society and takes her children out to the deser, she hears God tell her to murder her trusting tots. She does. Then, at the 11th hour, she realizes what she has done and rejects God entirely. Then the horn of Gabriel sounds. The horsemen appear. The world ends, and the woman is left in limbo for her doubts…forever.
It’s a stark, harsh and disturbing portrait of faith and it’s very clear that writer/director Gus Krieger has seen the movie. Because his new theological horror film The Binding (out now on Blu-ray from Scream Factory) steals its soul from The Rapture.
The Binding stars Amy Gumenick as Sarah, a loving wife and new mother who lives in comfort and holy rolling peace with her squeaky clean minister husband (Josh Heisler). Problems arise when one day, without warning, her husband begins babbling about having visions and insists that God has spoken to him and given him a very specific set of instructions. Seems God has trusted Sarah’s husband with saving the world and in order to do that…he has to murder their infant son.
Lovely.
What follows is a low-budget, slow-burning drama, with Sarah trying to drag in help from the Church to talk some sense into her deranged spouse. She leaves. She comes back. He acts insane. She leaves again. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
The Binding isn’t totally awful. It’s somber and treats the drama seriously and doesn’t rely on gore to goose the audience. But if you’ve seen the aforementioned The Rapture – and the underrated Bil Paxton-directed theological horror masterpiece Frailty – you know exactly what’s coming. Even if you haven’t seen those films, you’ll likely anticipate the ending. And when it comes, it’s a bit of a shrug.
All of this familiar theological-shock turf would be acceptable if the central performances were magnetic enough to hold our attention, Gumenick isn’t bad and she does her best with a character that isn’t too swift on paper. But as her vessel of a husband, Heisler is amateur night all the way. You never believe this guy believes in what he’s saying or doing and there’s zero chemistry between the two leads. And the locations are dull and the production design artless and unmemorable.And there’s a dose of nastiness towards the end that is unearned.
Special features on this release are minimal, including cast interviews and a few deleted scenes that only offer more of the same that already spreads across the running time. Krieger’s commentary track is decent and it’s refreshing to know how sincere he was when putting this project together.
In fact, I think Krieger (who is also an actor and occasional producer) is a good dramatic director. A dash more originality, a few more dollars and a more experienced cast and he might be dangerous. We’ll watch his career with interest.
And please, for the love of God (literally), see The Rapture if and when you can. It’s an astonishing picture, even if you know what’s coming at the climax.
