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Supporting Cast: Jim Bates(Sheriff), Jewel Staite(Margaret), James Wilson(Abraham), Nancy Sivak(Joan), Steve Bradley(Daryl), Bart Anderson(Errol), Havana Guppy(Annie), Peri Creticos(Demetrius)
Sarah Smyth ("Cedar Cove", 50/50, "Supernatural") headlines as a healthcare provider at odds with the evangelical family in her small town. When she refuses to stop seeing women in need and even helps a desperate member of their own family (sci-fi icon Jewel Staite, "Firefly", "Stargate: Atlantis", "The LA Complex"), they decide she is to blame for the mysterious deaths in the community and must pay.
"She Who Must Burn" tells the story of Angela, who is a planned parenthood counselor in a small town. Her husband Mac is a deputy in the town as well. As the film opens, we see Abraham Baarker sitting in some doctors office. When the nurse tells the doctor there is a man sitting in the waiting room Abraham Baarker gets up and shoots the doctor in the head before dropping to his knees as he prayers to God. We find out Baarker has a family of religious fanatics that have the women in the town frightened to get any type of health care. After the doctor is killed, the state shuts down the clinic but Angela insists on staying and helping the women of the town who are having health issues due to the mining work being done.
The remaining Baarker clan are not happy that Angela is still hanging around but after she helps a young woman go get checked out for breast cancer the Baarkers go in full attack mode because they think the woman took her young daughter to have an abortion. The women in town feel helpless because the local Sheriff just turns a blink eye to the illegal activity the Baarkers are up to. Now they are in full radical mode and Angela's life could be in danger.
Director, Larry Kent has been making films since the early 60's but none have been more powerful than his latest film, "She Who Must Burn." The synopsis above is about all you need to know before watching the film without ruining it and I am not going to do that because this is a must see film regardless of how hard it is to watch at times. The film is a disturbing and graphic look a how far people will go in the name of religion.
Midnight Releasing is known for finding some amazing Independent horror films but "She Who Must Burn" is not a horror film at all but it is one of the scariest and fear-inducing films you are going to see. One of reasons the film is so good is the amazing cast. There isn't one performance that stands out because everyone in the film was amazing including, Sarah Smyth(Angela), Missy Cross(Rebecca Baarker), Shane Twerdun(Jeremiah Baarker), Andrew Dunbar(Caleb Baarker) and Andrew Moxham(Mac) and the supporting cast was all fantastic as well. If I had to pick one performance, it would be Missy Cross' performance as Rebecca Baarker. Rebecca is the definition of a religious cult/nut job and Missy does a fantastic job playing crazy.
"She Who Must Burn" will be available October 11th on Cable VOD, Digital HD and DVD release. This is an award winning film that I highly recommend to anyone that likes this sort of drama/thriller. It is not going to be for everyone because some are going to find it to be too disturbing but I found it to be one of the best film's I have seen this year. This is a powerful and shocking film that will leave you affected and shaken long after it is over.
Released by Midnight Releasing
***** Out Of *****