If this disc could talk, it would enter the room with a loud, high-pitched, and slightly cracking, “I….have arrived!” I’m always looking for an excuse to talk about The Convent (2000). Mike Mendez directed the film from a script by Chaton Anderson, and the final result is that rare perfect blend of horror and comedy.
Synapse Films has released a 4K remaster from the original negative, supervised and approved by Mendez. In time for Halloween, The Convent has arrived in a standard edition worth every cent of your hard-earned money. Synapse has packed the disc with fantastic special features.
Christine is a young woman enrolled in the St. Francis Boarding School for Girls in 1960. Something in the air has driven her to lay waste to all the resident nuns, but what could it be? Four decades later, a group of college students head to the abandoned building for a night of vandalism. There were always rumors of the place being haunted, and they discover the truth. Demons prey on the unsuspecting students who find themselves at odds with not only the cops but a small group of Satanic cultists as well.
I’ve said much about this film in a previous article, so I’ll keep it (relatively) brief. This is one of those movies where the stars just seemed to align. The cast and crew couldn’t have been any better. There are a few great gore gags, black-light demons, near-perfect pacing, and a loud, industrial score from Joe Bishara.
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The cast had chemistry you rarely see in a film like this, and they balanced the dramatic with the comedic seamlessly. Adrienne Barbeau kicks butt while David Gunn, Kelly Mantle, Meghan Perry, and Liam Kyle Sullivan deliver some of the film’s most hysterical moments. Joanna Canton, Jason Dax Miller, Richard Trapp, and the rest of the cast bring their A-game.
In addition to the 4K remaster, the disc is loaded with special features, including a cast and crew commentary, a hilarious “Lords of Hell” commentary with David Gunn and Kelly Mantle in character as Saul and Dickie-Boy, a video tour of locations for The Convent and Mendez’s debut feature Killers, a vintage “Making of” featurette, the vintage original studio Electronic Press Kit (EPK), a deleted scene, gore outtakes, a still gallery, promotional trailers, and “It’s Always Something with a Virgin” Liner notes from author/critic Corey Danna (that name sounds very familiar).
It may have taken far too long to get its flowers, but The Convent is finally getting the attention it deserves. With this release, it can reach a much wider audience while appeasing the fans waiting for such a stellar release. The Convent is a wickedly funny, macabre roller coaster ride destined for cult film status.
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