The Veil: Phil Joanou

The Veil (2016), the new horror film by Phil Joanou--the guy who did that fantastic Punisher short with Ron Perlman--is pretty damn predictable with well-telegraphed jump scares. However it does have decent atmosphere and tolerable, watchable characters. In most of the low-budget indie horror films I see, the characters are usually obnoxious, repugnant, annoying, or all three. In fact, that's my biggest gripe with the slasher genre: it created a precedent where tertiary cannon fodder HAVE to be annoying and one-dimensional. That said, Jessica Alba isn't very good. Her old facial paralysis seems to have kicked back up; she reacts to finding a decayed dead body as if it was an old ham sandwich she discovered underneath a couch. But Thomas Jane KILLS it as the insane cult leader. I loved his whole crucifixion/alchemy shtick.

3/10