Nefarious

A prison thriller. A psychiatrist is called to a prison on an execution day. His task is to answer one question: is the man to be executed sane. The man across from him says he is not human. He claims there is a being inside him, that his name is something else, and that he is using the prisoner's body. The doctor does not believe it. Because he does not believe it, he stays. From there the film takes place almost entirely in one room, between two people. The conversation moves from an examination into a fight: the prisoner knows things about the doctor's own life and begins to say them. What the narrative is interested in is not horror but morality: the subject circles capital punishment, abortion, euthanasia and responsibility for crime. The film takes an open position on these and does not hide it. The structure is close to a stage play; light, two chairs and talk. Sean Patrick Flanery plays the prisoner, and the whole tension rests on his changes of tone. Jordan Belfi plays the doctor. The source is a novel by Steve Deace. Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon directed. It comes out of faith-based cinema and was well received in that world; the general critical response was largely poor. Who it is for: anyone who likes single-room conversation thrillers and horror with a religious theme. Who it is not for: anyone expecting an even-handed argument; the film defends a position and leaves the other side weak.