We watched Constantine on HBO Max and I realized that I had a bunch of unfounded ill-will toward this movie, which is pretty good.
@dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website.
https://youtu.be/DEa508Xmmio
Synopsis
Constantine is about John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), a DC character whose job is essentially to send demons back to hell. Or at least he made it his job when he realized that he was heading there.
He is approached by Angela (Rachel Weisz) and asked to help her prove that her twin sister didn’t commit suicide. As a devout Catholic, Angela realizes that if her sister did actually commit suicide she damned herself to hell.
With the help of his plucky sidekick, Chas (Shia LaBeouf) and some of his friends, John is on the case.
He finds himself in the middle of a war where the Devil’s son, Mammon, is trying to unleash himself into the world of the living.
Everyone gets more holy hand grenades than they bargained for.
Review
Constantine is a pretty impressive movie in a couple different ways.
Firstly, it had a large budget and was able to spend a lot of it on CGI monsters and backdrops, which wouldn’t normally be a plus. But this CGI from 2005 actually holds up quite well.
It also has enough action and interesting characters to keep you involved in the movie from beginning to end. In fact, the Angel Gabriel (Tilda Swinton) and Satan (Peter Stormare) are some of the best depictions of well-known Bible characters that I’ve ever seen on screen.
Constantine doesn’t dwell on the origin story, while still acknowledging it, which is a breath of fresh air in today’s hyper-cookie-cutter style comic book movie world.
By the end of Constantine, if you are bought in on the story the payoff will be pretty impressive. It’s not without fault, however. This movie came out two years after The Matrix trilogy concluded, and it feels like a direct port of that series in a lot of ways. From the stylized world to the monotone color pallet to starring Keanu as the savior of mankind – it’s uh, kind of obvious.
Also, it was originally touted as a horror movie and I can see where it threw in scary imagery and concepts to try and please the horror crowd. Make no mistake, this is not what I would call a “hard-horror movie”. This is an action-thriller that dealt with some of the scarier elements of religion, and the studio figured they could get a bigger audience if they could draw the horror crowd. This was my issue with the movie when I originally watched it on the bigscreen.
Overall, it’s a pretty fun movie that I would watch again after a few years. It was a much better Catholic horror movie than The Nun, so there’s that.
There's a particular kind of conversation that happens after the credits roll on a scary movie, when you're dissecting the jump scares and debating the monster's motives. Horror Movie Talk captures that exact feeling, serving up weekly discussions that are as much about the genuine love of the genre as they are about critique. Hosted by a team whose passion is palpable, this podcast delves into everything from the latest chilling release haunting theaters to those hidden gems-or notorious flops-you can find on streaming services. The analysis is sharp and deeply opinionated, but the chemistry between the hosts often leads the conversation into unexpectedly funny territory. It’s this blend of thoughtful review and spontaneous humor that defines the show. You'll hear passionate debates about cinematic technique, nods to classic influences, and honest reactions to whether a film truly delivers the scares. Tuning in each Wednesday feels like pulling up a chair with friends who’ve just seen the same movie, armed with strong opinions and a willingness to laugh at the absurdities that make horror so enduring. For anyone who lives for that post-viewing breakdown, this is a consistently engaging listen.
Author: Horror Movie Talk: Horror Movie Review
Language: English
Episodes: 464
Synopsis Peter Neal played by Anthony Franciosa is a famous author of crime/mystery novels. After the release of his new hit book Tenebrae, Peter travels to Rome to promote his story through interviews and morning talk s…
Synopsis Until Dawn follows Clover and her group of friends as they travel the country following her missing sister Melanie’s trail. After meeting a kind old man at a gas station who points them in the right direction, t…
This week we review Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. Is this movie cursed, or is Horror Movie Talk cursed? Stay tuned to find out. Synopsis Sinners stars Michael B Jordan and Michael C Jordan as twin brothers Smoke and Stack retu…
Synopsis Eight college friends reunite the evening before one of their weddings to catch up, hang out, and unexpectedly play a game that will change all of their lives forever. Review I like this movie a lot. It’s so muc…
Synopsis The Woman in the Yard is a blumhouse produced movie about a family living on a farm trying to make ends meet after a disastrous car accident which left the father dead, and mother crippled. As this broken home t…
This week we review Death of a Unicorn! Stay tuned to find out whether the laughs are real or mythological. Synopsis Paul Rudd plays the hapless single father Elliot to Jenna Ortega’s, art history student Ridley. They bo…
Synopsis Hush follows Maddy (Kate Siegel), a deaf writer living in the middle of nowhere. She settles in for a quiet night of working when her friend turns up screaming and bloody at her door, but Maddy does not notice.…
Synopsis Eraserhead is a movie about an awkward man named Henry who reconnects with his lost lover Mary over a lovely dinner of small chickens. They’re the same as the big chickens except for small. After finding out the…
Due to recent controversy with the recent Scary Movie episode featuring Horror Movie Talk (HMT) owner David Day, We are releasing the following announcement to the press.
This week we’re reviewing SCARY MOVIE, a spoof of 90s slashers and more. Here to defend 90s humor with me is David Day, stay tuned. Synopsis A masked killer stalks a group of dumb teenagers a year after they accidentally…
