The Unholy

A tediously solemn horror pic which abandons an intriguing conflict between repressed sexuality and disruptive desire in favour of the usual battle between Christian good and Satanic evil. Having survived a fall from a 17th floor window, young New Orleans priest Cross is made the pastor of a church whose last two incumbents have been murdered. Unsettled by a series of strange omens, he heeds the advice of cop Beatty and tracks down a frightened girl (Carroll), who used to help out at the church but now dances at a nightclub run by a sleazoid reptile (Russ) who uses chic Devil worship as an erotic floorshow. This sort of daft dabbling Cross can cope with; more disturbing are the warnings of blind Father Howard, who says that he must face a terrifying demon called 'The Unholy'. Sadly, for all the emphasis on diabolism and kinky sex, the toothy, red-eyed rubber monster simply preys on the devout and innocent. Unlikely to generate any fervour, religious or otherwise.