Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘The Convent’ (2000)

Written by Scott Edwards

Curiosity is something that helps drive many of us to learn more. While there are some things that we cannot explain, we still want answers, especially when it comes to the afterlife. Not knowing what will happen after we die, there are plenty of ideas, but it always comes back to our energy turning into ghosts/spirits that will roam the earth for the rest of time. As hauntings have never fully been explained, we are still drawn to them and want to know if they are real and what it really takes to become a spirit that never passes on.
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Getting ready to head out with her friends for a sorority prank, Clorissa is shocked to see her old friend Mo wants to come along for the ride. Not really being friends since joining the sorority, Clorissa does not think that Mo will fit in with her new friends, but Mo does not care, she just wants to join them on their adventure to the old convent where horrific murders took place years ago. Hearing that Frijole wants the goth girl to come along, Clorissa sets only one ground rule for her friend, not to embarrass her on the trip, mainly because she does not want to get kicked out. Loading into the jeep, the group makes a quick stop at old Christine’s house to see if the old killer wants to join them, but only getting a silhouette in the window and nothing else, the group makes their way up to the old convent on their own.

Trying to find a way into the old building, young pledge Brant is thrown through the boarded-up door before the group enters. As Biff and Kaitlin are looking for a place to be alone, Frijole sticks with Mo and Chad, Brant and Clorissa make their way around the abandoned halls. While Clorissa is trying to find a place to leave her mark in the old building, the police arrive and demand that everyone evacuate the convent before they are forced to come in and drag them out. But Mo is beside herself when seeing the cops outside and is afraid that she will lose her scholarship if she is caught. Making a deal with Frijole, Mo is able to remain in the old building, but has no idea who or what else is in the convent with her.

Being grabbed by a group of Satanists, Mo becomes the focus of a sacrifice that will release their savior, but they have no idea what they have done. Watching as the lifeless body of Mo becomes possessed with a killing spirit, they are all targets of the wrath of evil and every victim becomes infused with bloodlust as well. Knowing that they should not have left their friend behind, Clorissa leads the charge of heading back to the old building to make sure that Mo is alright, but when entering the convent again, the evil spirits inside do not want anyone to make it out alive. As the group is picked off one by one, Clorissa is forced to make the decision of a lifetime when looking for help and the woman who forced the convent to close might be her only hope of keeping the evil contained within the old walls.

Talk about a fun horror flick that will keep you watching, especially since the early transformations looked like a throwback to characters from Tron. With plenty of laughs to be had, it was great to see that the bloodletting did not let up after the first possession took place. I really liked the hesitance of the group heading back to the old building to look for Mo, even though she was a lost cause when they found her. The backstory to the old convent, along with the return of Christine was excellent and I didn’t see it coming, but am glad it happened, because she had some unfinished business. With a prank gone wrong, a group trying to bring Satan back, numerous possessions, blood, a shotgun, and a holy place being brought down to the ground, this was just a bunch of fun around every turn. While I have been in haunted locations before, a place where murders took place may have just been taken off of my list, because, well, damn. Stay Scared.

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