Hollywood seems to be content to churn out one cookie cutter possession movie after another at the moment. THE VATICAN TAPES is no different. Although this film bags some interesting character actors in support, it also has in director Mark Neveldine one of the lamest guys in Hollywood behind the camera. You may - or may not - remember Neveldine as one of the pair behind such delights as CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE and GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE, two of the dumbest films made in the last decade.Neveldine's quirky direction undoubtedly drags down this film's enjoyment level from the start. THE VATICAN TAPES half wants to be a realistic found footage movie, although it isn't; for the other half, it just adopts random shaking camera-work in order to portray the unfolding events. It's headache-inducing.The narrative is clichéd and the dialogue pretty rotten, so solid actors like Dougray Scott and Djimon Hounsou are given very little to do other than show up. Once again Michael Pena wastes a potentially interesting character role, while Alison Lohman creates a character totally unsympathetic to the viewer. I appreciate the inclusion of old action B-movie stars like Michael Pare and Daniel Bernhardt in the plot, but what's the point of having them do nothing? THE VATICAN TAPES is a slow-moving tale that delivers one cliché after another, particularly an uninspired exorcism scene which certainly isn't worth sitting around for. It was certainly a waste of time for me.

Seriously now - I can't believe someone at Lionsgate actually approved this horrible production.This is one of those movies that you watch and then suddenly the end credits appear and you ask yourself "what the f...". I mean, had it at least been scary. Or surprising. Or anything... No plot, just a sequence of exorcism or possession scenes that are very short, un- scary and not even surprising or mysterious. No hidden message, no good guys or bad guys, just a boring possession. No point at the end, no development during the movie... just people doing things while being shot by a camera and then it ends - with simply nothing really happening or any hint of anything.Quite boring, pointless and the acting is far from convincing.The horror is the fact this film was ever released. It truly scares me that there's someone who actually approved this!

Another found-footage movie; another exorcism movie; another possession movie. Are those complaints? Not really because I do generally enjoy these types of horrors, but The Vatican Tapes isn't really one of the better ones of the found-footage genre and is quite a bit of a let down.For me, the main let down for the most part was that it was pretty slow & dull with the best parts of the film coming in the last 20 minutes, which is the only reason why I bumped my rating from a probable 4 to 5. Other than that, it's pretty uneventful. Even the main characters (other than Angela) are pretty flat and don't have much background to them, which is a shame considering the cast.Also, for a found-footage movie, only some of the film is shot through a hand-held. The rest of the film is shot just like a regular movie, so how it can be classed as found-footage is quite strange.If you didn't know by now, The Vatican Tapes is about a woman, Angela, who mysteriously starts to change in behaviour & mannerisms, which gradually become more violent. As these incidents become more frequent, Angela is institutionalised at a psychiatric hospital, but when her psychiatrist fails to cure her, a local church priest, Father Lorenzo, begins to suspect demonic possession. Lorenzo seeks the help & guidance from Cardinal Bruun and together, along with Angela's father and boyfriend, they attempt to help Angela before its too late.If you're thinking that that story sounds familiar then you'd be right, because not only has it been done plenty of times before, but it's a dead ringer for The Exorcist, which The Vatican Tapes essentially is. Although really comparing the two is like comparing Deep Blue Sea to Jaws.As I mentioned before, the only reason I've given this movie a 5 instead of a 4 is because of the events in the third act, and while they are by no means excellent, they definitely help save the film from completely nose-diving.The Vatican Tapes is by no means the worst of this genre, but it's definitely not one of the best either.

'THE VATICAN TAPES': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five) Another religious themed horror flick, dealing with exorcisms and demons. This one was directed by Mark Neveldine; who also co- directed such violent action movies as 'CRANK', 'CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE', 'GAMER' and 'GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE' (all much better films than this). It was written by Chris Morgan (who also wrote the last five 'FAST & FURIOUS' flicks), Christopher Borrelli and Michael C. Martin. The movie stars Olivia Taylor Dudley, Michael Peña, Dougray Scott, John Patrick Amedori, Peter Andersson, Djimon Hounsou and Kathleen Robertson. It's a very mediocre film, and completely forgettable.Angela Holmes (Dudley) is a 27-year-old woman, who's struggling with getting her overbearing father (Scott) to accept her boyfriend (Amedori); who she loves and lives with. She's also recently began having severe trouble with violent accidents, and bizarre mood swings. We soon learn that Angela has been possessed, by a very powerful demon. It's up to a priest (Peña), and a veteran Vatican exorcist (Andersson), to stop her.The movie is full of cheap thrills, and laughable acting. The story and characters are almost nonexistent. There's definitely nothing original or creative here, but the film isn't dull; and it does have decent production values (and a $13 million budget). It's not entertaining enough to call 'so bad it's good' but at least it isn't boring. Horror fans might be slightly amused (very slightly).Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://youtu.be/41q3ZuWGdEE