Review - Sanctuary (1998 - Dir Tibor Takács)

I couldn't resist this film when I saw it. Mark Dacascos paired with Tibor Takács (Hardcover, The Gate). And although it's not either of their greatest films, it grew on me.


I have to admit I didn't give it the best of chances on my first watch. I always started it late at night and ended up falling asleep watching it (a long day at work can be tiring, don't blame the film). I didn't completely get it the first time round. In my defence: a) it took me a good few sittings to get through it, b) it's quite complicated due to a fractured storyline that flashes back like nobody's business and finally c) I'm a thick northener.


Mark Dacascos plays Luke Kovak, an ex-Special Ops kind of guy who left the agency for which he worked, to become a priest. I know what you're thinking. A kung fu priest. Plus, seeing as though it's a Tibor Takács film, there may even be a stop-motion spider/nun hybrid for him to kick in the middles. But no. It is way more sensible than that. It's more akin to Bourne and Mission: Impossible. There are even aerial shots of the city so they must have had a bit of a budget to play with.

One thing that carries over from Takács' other films is the gorgeous, Bava-esque lighting. I love coloured lighting and it separates Sanctuary from other similar films. A scene of Luke in his tiny bedsit, lit by a passing train may be a cliche, especially with the camera shake, but it doesn't stop it from looking great. 


Dacascos doesn't get to do that much scrapping, which is a shame, but this is one of his finer acting performances. His relationship with Rachel Malcolm (Kylie Travis), a fellow operative, is one of the strengths of the film. And because he's now a priest it never strays into the more obvious romantic category. Almost, but not quite.


Sanctuary never quite kicks into high gear (although there is a fairly tense sequence involving a golf cart, I'm not joking) but it is well worth a couple of watches, maybe more. It is book-ended by two sequences that potentially were setting up a cracking sequel. Sadly, a it has never emerged. I will carry on dreaming about what could have been... mmm, Spidernun...

Artist's impression.

6/10
evlkeith



If you like this you could also try:
Crying Freeman, Only the Strong, Hardcover, The Gate.