THE SEVENTH SIGN (1988)
It doesn't feel like October yet. I keep waiting for the Halloween spirit to grip my penetralia, but something - maybe the temperate weather - is getting in the way. I was hoping that this apocalyptic thriller would do the trick. There seems to be a microgenre set around mothers dealing with ostensibly paranormal events. Screenwriter Emily Green (credited here alongside her husband) can be held accountable for at least two of these pictures, the other being 2000's Bless the Child. Demi Moore plays Abby, a pregnant woman who believes that a miscarriage could foretell the end of the world. Of course, her husband calls it applesauce.
Okay, maybe he doesn't use that word, but he has enough to worry about. His day job? An attorney defending a man on death row, a man with Down's Syndrome who claims that God told him to kill his parents. I'd be stressed out, too. The good news is that Sign addresses heavy topics with tact. Plus, the cast is filled out with adept professionals like Jurgen Prochnow and Michael Biehn. There are a couple of dull spots hither and thither, but for the most part, the pace has a kicking pulse. If you've seen as many religious horror films as I have, you'll be able to predict the outcome. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, mind you. All in all, The Seventh Sign was a solid springboard for my spooky season, even if it can be argued that my spooky season started in January.
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