Wrath Of The Violent Vicar – Interactive Film

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The theme of religion has been flagging up for me as of late and I sure hope it's not a sign from above... The only other similarly themed horror game that I've reviewed was Lucius but that was about inflicting pain being inspired by the Omen films. It would be fine, had it not Intersect with another sub-genre I had NO prior experience at all (ZILCH)- FMV games! Hold for shock... I have come across many on Steam, but not once did I see the appeal behind them- if I wanted to watch something…you know where I’m going with this!?
Nick Box, a cult underground film director, occasional actor (pardon the technical inaccuracies) in the grindhouse genre decided to crossover his 2012 Wrath of The Violent Vicar (WVV) into the realm of video games with previously unreleased footage. Intriguing but I have another question; how would I even begin to judge it? On its own merit or the movie it’s owed to?? As I'd quickly realize, FMVs can be a mighty guilty-pleasure when both elements are tackled with an eye for detail and love for the craft, to which this one only passably manages~
"Do Unto Others..."
The Gist:
Vicar Luke is caught in a hierarchy of faith as he is often tormented by the more sinister Reverend Drago and his pissy goons. Don't lose hope, because The Son of God will make Himself known and help illuminate your way. But getting there is up to you- do you stray from the path or demonstrate your devotion in a Jesus-approved way!?
! If you don't like indie films, then you probably won't like this either!
PROS;
(a) Is This A Test?
It plays exactly like a movie (wow really) but you are given some form of illusory control over Luke's actions. For instance, the option to either "kill" or "super kill", the latter as stated on the store page- is the extended version (bit of an overkill if you ask me). Then you also have room for reflection and this is where you can select "Good" or "Bad" Jesus comes into motion to really give you the encouragement as well as put things into perspective.
It's actually a nice change of pace to just be idle, watching the deeds unfold. Now that I think about it, I should have had some chips and dip to go with it too!! There are five save slots made available between scenes and so should you decide to repent- that would be the time.
(b) The Hand of God
The overall plot is threadbare but what slasher isn't? Besides I'm not complaining...! It's wildly amusing for what it is- I found the film to my liking!! I'm the kind of moviegoer who doesn't dig low-budget films usually (unless it's horror). BUT I'm telling you, there's something very gratifying about two grown men swinging bibles at each other or going ballistic at someone for littering.
(c) True Believer
It's a little on the over-the-top side of acting but they're just very seriously in character. The guy who plays Luke (producer as well) with his straight-faced, creepy smile may be a dead giveaway of his murderous nature but his innocent-like appearance is undeniably deceiving. The highlight however has to be Jesus himself; whose vocabulary and mannerisms differ in two ways. Be it the calm, progressively aggravated ethereal figure or the jilted, foul-mouthed and sarcastic d-bag both are show-stopping that I had to replay it just for him!!
The film had the graininess and retro style to it that I just loved! Was it to cover up some other technical continuity, who the hell cares!? A disclaimer though, some scenes may be fairly disturbing and I've seen a lot, but I still felt the disgust in my gut~
(d) For The Love of Ch-
SCARY: First off, it's probably outside the intent of the filmmaker but it spotlights a misuse of a sacred force. One that is misused to sadly prey on the weak and those desperately wishing to turn over a new leaf. I have never been very religious myself but it definitely struck a nerve.
Second, the infectiously dominating influence that faith had driven so many to commit unspeakable acts of violence. As proven time and time again, so vividly in the past. That persists and is ongoing elsewhere in the world.
Last of course, is the million-dollar question is god real? WAIT, don't throw your stones or raise hell yet... I meant- to Luke! Think about it, why would this divine, unreal being simply pop up and preach of unsavory values!? It'd make more sense then, this version is but Luke's inner self being fed up and is projected as a way of justifying his newfound agenda.
CONS;
(i) Lapse in Judgement
A tolerable film but game-wise, hard to look at... let alone play through. Quite a few bugs where say you were loading your saved data (which you stopped at a choice screen) but then it prompts the background still from the first scene although it corresponds to the new choices. There was one where the clip just froze, did I hit pause!? And another it played twice- oh I left it on repeat... Ahh I didn't.
The engine utilized was meant to be for visual novels and so didn't quite… in fact, doesn't work! The "skip message" and "hide message" options do absolutely nothing!! Furthermore, the area of clicking for said choices are so massive careful that a trigger-happy mishap will incur another unskippable cutscene!
(ii) RIP-ped Off
Back to the film, I can't say with total certainty as I didn't watch the OG but the editing’s jarring with so many fast cuts (looking at you training montages). Also, since the dev had to make do with past footage, it becomes a ton of "once you see it" moments where the scenes were obviously spliced together to achieve some continuity or prolong them for the "extended" kill sequences~

Other issues of audio and lip-sync, being matched word for word in a few and most blurted out sooner than the mouth could sound. I would have appreciated the option for subtitles or maybe that's not common in these films?
(iii) Pay for Your Sins
Pricing is actually pretty decent. Like a movie-stub except with half-the runtime. There are apparently more endings besides a "all-good" or "all-bad" morality! But do they significantly alter the final outcome, that's set in stone with the title? I mean there are no achievements, nor can screenshots be taken. So you know what- I am furious now!!
I have to also acknowledge it's his first game after all, and he's gone on to transform more of his later filmography on a monthly basis. I just hope the rest of them don't get stuck in purgatory too which'd be a darn waste of his creative potential.
"-And So LUKE What You Made Me...?!"
Name doesn’t do it for you? The comical, gritty violence will grab and shake some faith into you! Decent production value overall but definitely an acquired taste for a film, even more so as a game. The story was so random and revolves essentially over nothing but gets fanned out of proportion in a way that proves very entertaining! Jesus' performance was the most overdone but exceptionally so, as is his dual role. It certainly made me want to watch the actual film!
It crashes and burns by not having a user-friendly interface. Audio sync and other complications seize whatever morsel of enjoyment you’d get out of it. The beacon of light here is the developer is well aware of these flaws and is getting a handle of the engine he's working with. When it boils down to it- I'd still hit "PLAY" anyway whether it's this or the other iterations of his film collection, because the single viewing is worth it~
6.5/10
Niche or not- I'm bingeing all of Nick Box's FMV-titles~
A prayer goes out to Nick for reaching out & giving da key through CC!

A short interactive horror movie about religion - You are in charge of a murderous priest that kills people with his bible. Absolutely hilarious, and I loved the awesome soundtrack of this game.

Fun silly FMV game! It's just a choices based game so don't expect much in terms of strategy/mechanics but if you like old FMV goofiness like me you'll get your money's worth!! Takes right about an hour to beat and it's great streaming material! (if you don't mind violence, blood and good ole trashiness!)

if you ever wanted to direct your own troma film this is for you, not recomended for members of the clergy with violent dispositions

Great little FMV game, really enjoyed it, if you're a fan of FMV games ya really need to check it out!!!

Nailed the grindhouse aesthetic. It is an interactive movie, but the level of interaction is pretty low. The movie is pretty short, half an hour for a single playthrough. I love FMV and grindhouse, so this was an easy pick, I enjoyed it a lot. It would really benefit from subtitles. Sometimes the audio levels are badly off and hard to understand dialogue. This one should be pretty transparent as to what it is about. If nothing about it is your thing, then don't bother. If you like the look and feel, then definitely grab it.

It has some nice ideas and I heard it was a normal film but It's something I have heard.
The acting is very cheesy but nice as a short Interactive film. The choices are really simple maybe too basic for some but had some moments within the game.
It has a lot of indie production values which is great. I will admit it is a bit too trippy for me but has its moments.