While the name Brian Yuzna will be familiar with genre fans for films such as Society and classics from the Stuart Gordon back catalogue, he is venturing into new territory with The Pope.
He has tackled the slasher sub-genre before with The Dentist films, The Pope is slightly more rich in its sub-text.
We follow the residents of a California Catholic parish that is being terrorised by a killer dressed as the Pope plus a mask covering their face.
The violence and the killings are brutal here but Yuzna does attempt to ground matters and focuses on a small number of people all caught in the midst of this rampage. He does make some interesting choices in terms of revelations about the killings and their purpose fairly early on, but this only helps enrich the story as we hurtle towards an action-packed finale.
The Pope is also a brisk read and like all great horror reads it will have you up later than you should be to see what happens next.
Brian Yuzna may be known for his special effects and directing but he could certainly gain a new following if he continues producing quality literary work like The Pope.
The Pope by Brian Yuzna is released on 11th January 2022.
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