The man with the giant forehead.
A woman who works as a call girl loses her young daughter in an accident. A woman she knows kills some people on the street, and it turns out that one of her clients has a giant forehead. The pimp, or whatever he is, wants the woman to check out the giant forehead to see if he knows what happened to the other woman who killed some people and where she is. Then she meets the man with the giant forehead who is obsessed with foreheads, sorry, I meant moths. He wants to take photos of her body parts. And then strange things start happening. Is Mr. Forehead the Japanese Jeepers Creepers?
New Religion is an interesting low-budget movie that is depressing, and it feels more like a dark drama. It reminded me of a Kiyoshi Kurosawa movie with its atmosphere and slow pace, akin to David Lynch’s style.
The protagonist is sad and lost after her young daughter’s death, and she lives with a man who tries to support her. However, she isn’t willing to open up, and she misses her daughter so much. As a result, she’s in a trance throughout the movie. Then, she meets Mr. Forehead, a guy who is more funny than creepy. I won’t say more than that without spoiling anything, but he is weird, and you sense he’s up to no good. He looks like a giant toad with a giant forehead!
“New Religion” isn’t a movie for the casual viewer; it’s a slow-paced movie with a dark atmosphere. It features some visually striking scenes, and the score adds to the overall atmosphere. I felt really sad for the protagonist, and her interactions with her daughter towards the end are something I found moving and human. The score and the sorrowful scenes are emotionally brutal.
I wish the pace could have been faster because some scenes drag on for too long. I can understand why some people might dislike the movie since it’s so slow. However, it does have some really cool and atmospheric scenes. I enjoyed the scenes with the protagonist when she longs for the touch of her daughter and the emotional score in some scenes. And the actress who plays the protagonist is excellent.
Don’t expect a typical horror movie that will frighten you. In the end, this is a dark and heavy drama about loss and being trapped in a nightmare. If you like these types of movies, there might be some replay value here, especially if you enjoy movies in the style of David Lynch. I didn’t fully understand the movie by the end, so it may be worth watching again.