Stigmata!. Review on Stigmata Movie

Do you remember the freaky yet scary movie called The Exorcist? Well let me introduce you to a movie that goes far beyond your greatest expectations! This is a movie that in some ways could really happen, depending on what faith you have. The movie is called Stigmata, so first let me explain what stigmata really means before I go into the story.

The meaning of the word Stigmata When Christ was sent to be crucified he was beaten, his hands were nailed to the cross, and so was his feet, he had a crown of thorns upon his head, he was speared in the side. So when someone is considered having Stigmata they are considered as if they were going through the same things that Christ went through in Gethsemane. The Catholic Church believes in Stigmata, and they are the ones who search it out and they try to determine if what they see are true or false. The Catholic Church will also go out and determine weather or not a mirical was real or fake too. Now that you have a general idea of what Stigmata is and the reason behind the title I will now start off with the movie review.

Movie Stigmata This movie is a thriller, it is rated “R” and was released in 1999. The movie begins with Frankie Paige (Patricia Arquette) a young lady in her early twenties, she has a boy friend and lives on her own, but strange things begin to happen to Frankie and she just doesn’t understand what they are. She ends up going to Dr’s and Physiologists but they are just as stumped as she is. They can’t answer the most important questions that Frankie has and that question is “why me?” When Frankie was going home she decided to take the bus, while she was on the bus she encountered a Priest and then all of a sudden the lights go off in the bus and Frankie is being beat all over the place, people can see that it looks like she was being whipped by a leather belt or something, The priest was a witness to this, and he went straight to the Catholic Church and told them about Frankie Paige, this is how the news of her strange behavior begins. It is also the first step in the Stigmata, just like when Christ was beaten before he was crucified.

Now you are introduced to the new Priest named Andrew Kieman (Gabriel Byrne) he is the one sent to investigate the rumor of the girl’s stigmata. When he first arrives in her hometown he ends up meeting with her. She begins to tell him about her strange imagoes and etc, and he asked her if she was religious? She told the Priest that she wasn’t and this was mind boggling to him, since most the people who ever encountered these Stigmata were very religious and this was considered an honor to feel the pain that Christ felt. Andrew has a strong faith in God, but yet he has been struggling against his religion for some time now. He also believes in scientific research as well to explain the happenings of Stigmata. So now he has a real battle on his hands. After he seen the beating on her back things really start to go weird. One day he sees her on top of a car crying out and talking in a language that only God may have know. So he had her try to interpret what she said by writing it down all over his walls in his room. He brought her to his place so that he could keep a better eye on her. During one episode they were together at a restraint outside and all of a sudden there was blood flowing down her hands and feet, she was now going into the second phase of stigmata were Christ was being crucified and his hands and feet were nailed to the cross. The agony and pain she was dealing with at the time was so freaky and scary even the priest was shocked to see this. There were other people around her at the time and they were all scared off. The priest knew that he had little time to save this poor young girl, and he was realizing that she was truly going through this stage of stigmata and that if he didn’t save her soon she would surly die. So he kept a good eye on her, and during this time he gets to know her as a person better, and he begins to fall in love with her. Knowing that a priest isn’t allowed any sexual encounters this only tempted him to no end. Then you see Frankie talking to the priest in some sort of voice that wasn’t hers, and she was making sexual conversation with the priest.

Conclusion Ok, I will stop there. I don’t want to let the best part of the movie out of the bag yet now do I? Lets just say you will witness more stigmata, and you will see a bed rise and Frankie talk again weird in a voice that isn’t hers. But will Frankie survive the Stigmata or will she end up like others who have died? Does the priest end up sleeping with Frankie and going against his religion just so he can help her? What happens to all them once she is taken to the Vatican for help and safety? This movie is full of blood and wired stuff, it is scary as heck because some believe that this can really happen to a person.

There is evidence that some have really had stigmata and I guess that is what helps make this movie as scary and freaky as it was! Both Actor and Actress done an awesome job in their role. Patricia is one of the “better” actors of the family, she truly makes you feel like she went through all that pain just like Christ did, and she sure did act superb. I however suggest that maybe you watch this movie with someone else cause it can really put a scare into you.