She Who Must Burn

Larry Kent's film about religious fanaticism taking a violent turn in a rural town boasts a great deal of passion but very little subtlety. The story begins with the murder of a local doctor by the pastor of a fundamentalist congregation, who sees his victim as an irredeemable sinner because he distributes birth control pills (and possibly performs abortions). The killer is hauled off to prison, but his son Jeremiah (Shane Twerdun) and daughter Rebecca (Missy Cross) continue the crusade, accusing a nurse named Angela (Sarah Smyth) of killing babies and then picketing the house that she shares with her boyfriend, town deputy Mac (Andrew Moxham). Matters escalate when Angela not only helps Jeremiah's wife flee her abusive husband, but also assists a local girl in securing an abortion elsewhere. This moves the seething Jeremiah, egged on by Rebecca (who has begun babbling in tongues), to turn to violence just as his father had, resulting in a bloodbath that claims several victims. She Who Must Burn is obviously a committed work that boasts some crude visceral power, but its utter lack of nuance ultimately undermines its dramatic potency. Not a necessary purchase. (F. Swietek)