My Review Of “Kingdom Come”

Greg A. Sager directed paranormal horror “Kingdom Come”  brings spirituality to the front of horror story telling. The film stars Ry Barrett, Camille Hollett-French, William Foley, Jason Martorino, Soroush Saeidi, Chelsey Marie, Jo Jo Karume and Katie Uhlmann. The plot sets up a group of strangers waking in a creepy location with no exits, temporary amnesia and something stalking them. It is a classic framing device that has the “dying conscience facing retribution in limbo” scenario playing out in macabre and horrific melodrama.

Okay I know that I just did a “spoiler” no-no but the story concept is obvious from the start in “Kingdom Come”, and because often times movies that play this curious spiritual situation out can be boring, I want that out of the way because this film is actually interesting, entertaining and creative. Once that manifestum is dealt with then it opens the story up to be enjoyed for the character developments, chilling aspects of horror, and backstory reveals. All of which relies on writing, directing and creativity at the most basic  ability. “Kingdom Come” does a pretty good job shedding the tiresome cliché , and gives a nice, creative, story.

The cinematography and direction Sager and his team gives us is a strong, visual nightmare, that is captivating. The acting, at times gets choppy, but for the most part the cast bring these characters to life with real emotion. On the surface they seem like 2 dimensional characters but during the course of their journey, the dimensions to these people’s individual stories get deep, dark and affective. That is why I hint to the nature of “Kingdom Come” concept, because the real gem of this film is the journey and revelation of character offered within. The situations are creative, disturbing, and relative to the underbelly of global social constructs.

The special effects and overall environment of “Kingdom Come” is that of “horror attraction” on steroids. The location, haunting nature, and dark subject matter push the “soul facing death” scenario beyond redundancy and into terrifying grounds. The antagonist and his companions are expected evil aspects that could seem cliché or transparent, but in this set-up work perfectly to really keep the story arch solid, fluid, and macabre. “Kingdom Come” is a morality tale, and the creature effects and scene designs really amp up the chilling nature of the story. The sound effects don’t really offer anything more than the ability to really solidify the macabre nature of the film, and tense atmosphere. The sounds and instrumental are what you would expect them to be in a story like this.

Overall, “Kingdom Come” is a great example of how a concept, no matter how obvious it seems, can be elevated to something entertaining. I enjoyed the basic, atmospheric effects, the characters developments and journeys, and the creature effects. The story arc is solid with real attention to getting as much substance in this film without being boring or preachy. The ending is a bit of an expected let-down, but I have never found any film that uses this concept to be surprising or “go out with a bang”. Still the journey and disturbing character journeys are what really make “Kingdom Come” a film worth watching.