Review
The Devil Conspiracy (Sci-Fi, Horror) (2022)
Director: Nathan Frankowski
Writer: Ed Alan
Stars: Alice Orr-Ewing, Joe Doyle, Eveline Hall, Peter Mensah
An organisation serving as a front for a secretive devil-worshipping cult steals the Shroud of Turin and kidnaps a young woman for use in their devious machinations.
Directed by lesser-known director Nathan Frankowski, his latest film is best described as an action-packed sci-fi horror. Premiering at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, later released to wider audiences in January of 2023, ‘’The Devil Conspiracy’’ shows a cult to Lucifer, attempting to reincarnate their lord with the DNA of Jesus Christ. It has been produced by Czech Anglo Productions, Film Mode Entertainment and MBM3 Films while distributed by Third Day Productions and Samuel Goldwyn Films.
Following Lucifer’s rebellion of the fallen angels, the fated ruler of Hell is cast down and chained by Archangel Michael using his holy sword. In the modern world, with society developed, an artefact called the Shroud of Turin is displayed in a religious exhibit. A satanic cult has heard of this and sneaks into the exhibit to perform a heist claiming the Shroud for themselves in a wicked plot to bring Lucifer to our mortal plane. They succeed, but not before killing a priest and kidnapping a young woman who was working on a thesis about good and evil.
Whether true evil exists is an often debated question, while the church makes us believe God and the Devil are locked in an eternal battle. ‘’The Devil Conspiracy’’ presents Lucifer actively trying to emerge on Earth with a cult assuring his success. So, true evil does exist, and Michael is here to halt it.
If the premise sounds absurd, that’s because it is. Certain movie-goers would delight in the farcical imagery, while the religious community would likely shun it entirely. We rarely see such religion-based horrors comparable to other films using faith as a foundation, such as ‘’The Da Vinci Code’’ and ‘’Constantine’’.
In other films, as delirious as this, often the director is obviously in on the joke alongside the script-writers—that’s not evident here. ‘’The Devil Conspiracy’’ has an air of seriousness about it the entire time, using the Shroud of Turin, which in this tale is completely real and contains the blood of Jesus. We mostly follow Orr-Ewing’s Laura in a rather uncomfortable storyline featuring impregnation. At the same time, the almost Van Helsing-inspired character in Doyle’s Michael uses the deceased priest’s body as a vessel playing second-fiddle to Laura.
To admit there’s something enjoyable about Frankowski’s guilty pleasure film, mainly using Mensah’s name to cash cheques, similar to many Bruce Willis films coming out in the past few years. The complete absurdity perplexed and a line by a possessed Laura, pregnant with the spawn of Lucifer, going ‘’Brother, my water’s broken’’ in a demonic speech while standing over Michael will stay implanted in my brain forever.
Nothing is subtle, and The Church will undoubtedly try and ban ‘’The Devil Conspiracy’’. As a Film Critic, it was an obligation to review; as a fan, I’d form your own decision after reading this review, be warned, as it’s genuinely an outlandish project.
Verdict
Let me be your vessel and see ‘’The Devil Conspiracy’’ for you.
6,0
