As Easter falls upon us, we can’t help but wonder if the “second-best” religious holiday gets the shaft when it comes to holiday-themed horror.
Christmas, of course, has classic hits like Silent Night, Deadly Night, and Krampus. Thanksgiving rolled into theaters in 2022 and became an instant fan favorite. Even St. Patrick’s Day gets its glory with eight different Leprechaun movies, for better or for worse.
When it comes to Easter, let’s just say the holiday-themed horror leaves little to be desired. Sure, you’ve got Mick Garris’ Critters 2, but the holiday takes an obvious backseat to the ferocious little fuzzies.
Most Easter horror flicks are regulated to Easter Bunny slashers and creature features, with the likes of Beasterday, Easter Bunny Massacre, and of course, Rottentail, Kottentail, and Peter Rottentail. Yes, those are all separate films.
However, there is a lesser-known movie from the ‘90s that could (and maybe should) take the reins as the best Easter-themed horror movie out there. We’re celebrating this Easter Sunday with Resurrection.
While some of you may know Australian filmmaker Russell Mulcahy from his work directing about a million Elton John, Billy Joel, and Duran Duran videos, most know him as a director of some multi-genre nerd culture fan favorites, like Razorback, Highlander, Highlander II: The Quickening, Ricochet, and most recently, Teen Wolf: The Movie.
In 1999, Mulcahy decided to team up with Christopher Lambert once again and cast him as Creole Chicago Detective John Prudhomme. Prudhomme and his partner, Detective Hollinsworth, are hot on the trail of “The Numbers Killer,” a serial killer who is collecting body parts of his victims in hopes of using them in building the resurrected body of Jesus Christ, with the completion falling on… you guessed it, Easter Sunday!
Prudomme and The Numbers Killer get a little too close for comfort a couple of times, and the killer develops a strange obsession with the detective, even willing to attack his partner, his wife, and feed off the ghosts of Prudhomme’s haunted past.
Now, if you’re thinking this sounds similar to another ‘90s gritty detective horror-esque, noir-style, number-based serial killer movie, you would be correct.
There are a ton of scenes that feel ripped straight out of David Fincher’s Se7en (though not nearly as well done), and we even have the connection of Leland Orser playing Prudomme’s partner. Orser is one of Hollywood’s “I know that guy!” actors and is memorable in Se7en for being one of the perpetrators of “Lust,” and screaming, “He told me f**k her! And I DID!”
Outside of Lambert and Orser, Resurrection has a fun supporting cast of character actors from all over the horror spectrum, like Barbara Gordon (Dead Ringers, Skinwalkers), Robert Joy (Land of the Dead, The Hills Have Eyes (2006)), and even a surprising cameo from David Cronenberg, the king of body horror.
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While there are plenty of dark, rainy scenes and chases through apartment complexes, Resurrection differs from Se7en in its story (which was written by both Mulcahy and Lambert), which is honestly a pretty cool concept. It’s the film’s unintentionally hilarious moments that differentiate the two, making it a great choice for a palate-cleansing closer in a double feature with the Fincher classic.
The hilarity all starts with Lambert’s incredibly weird Creole accent. When he’s not sucking on crayfish heads for lunch, he’s cutting his r’s with a voice that makes JCVD’s Cajun roles feel like Oscar winners.
There are a ton of scenes that are supposed to be intense, but just end up being ridiculous fuel for you and your friends to enjoy. Whether it’s Prudomme being unintentionally clotheslined by a rollerblader, and his child being flung into oncoming traffic, or accidentally grabbing a full hand of a twig and berries while trying to stop the bleeding of a victim’s leg wound,
Resurrection doesn’t pull any punches with its horror, either. There are decapitations, dismemberment, child death, baby snatching, and blood flowing, and everything’s topped off with a finale featuring a re-created Jesus Christ on the cross, made from stitched-together body parts, delivered as promised on Easter Sunday.
Related: Exclusive: Horror Filmmaker Ted Geoghegan talks ‘Brooklyn 45’, ‘80s Slashers, and the Afterlife
So, is Resurrection a “good” movie? What is good, anyway? It’s a cheesy, entertaining, straight-to-video horror flick, and it’s so much better than the other Easter horror alternatives. It was a blast of a recommendation from filmmaker Ted Geoghegan (Brooklyn 45, We Are Still Here), via his Twitter (X) account.
The best part? It’s available to stream for free on Tubi, so go give it a watch, and celebrate the “resurrection” in the best way we horror fans know how. Happy Easter, everyone!
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