JP Nunez
I’ve been wanting to see The Righteous for a while. I first heard about it when I was covering last year’s Fantasia International Film Festival, but I didn’t get a chance to see it. It’s been on my to-watch list ever since, so I’ve been anxiously awaiting the day it would be released to a wider audience—and that day is coming soon. Arrow Video has picked up The Righteous and will be putting it out through their streaming service next month, and they’ve also given us a trailer for the film. Here’s what it’s about:
A unique and darkly engaging spiritual thriller, strikingly shot in black and white, The Righteous tells the story of Frederic (Henry Czerny) a grieving man struggling with his faith, who helps an injured young man, Aaron Smith (Mark O’Brien) who stumbles onto his property one night, claiming to be lost in the woods. Frederic and his wife (Mimi Kuzyk) invite the man to stay for the night, but Frederic soon begins to have doubts about this enigmatic stranger’s story – and his motives for being there. When Aaron asks Frederic to commit an unspeakable deed, it becomes clear that the man is not who he seems, and has been sent to test the very limits of Frederic’s existence.
That premise raises a whole bunch of really intriguing questions, so even without seeing a single second of footage, I’m already hooked. Who (or what!) is this enigmatic stranger? What’s his real reason for being there? And most of all, what “unspeakable deed” does he want Frederic to commit? I don’t know the answers to those questions, but I can’t wait to find out.
Then, when you add in the trailer, The Righteous just becomes more and more tantalizing. Most notably, the cinematography here is hauntingly beautiful, and the performances all look fantastic, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up being one of the best horror movies of the year.
The Righteous hits the Arrow streaming service on June 10.
