The Shrine (film)
Encyclopedia
The Shrine is a Canadian horror film produced by Brookstreet Pictures
Brookstreet Pictures
Brookstreet Pictures is a film production company with offices in Beverly Hills, California and Kanata, Ontario. Founded by Trevor Matthews in 2004, the company produces and finances films.-Filmography:* Street Soldier * Old West...

. The film was directed by Jon Knautz and stars Aaron Ashmore
Aaron Ashmore
Aaron Robert Ashmore is a Canadian film and television actor, perhaps best known for his role as Jimmy Olsen in Smallville and as Steve Jinks in Warehouse 13. He is the twin brother of actor Shawn Ashmore.-Career:...

, Cindy Sampson, Meghan Heffern
Meghan Heffern
Meghan Heffern is a Canadian actress. She was born in Edmonton, Alberta and currently resides in Toronto, Ontario.-Television:* Flight 93 as Nicole Miller* Whistler as Britt...

, and Trevor Matthews
Trevor Matthews
Trevor Matthews is a Canadian film producer and actor. He is the youngest son of telecommunications billionaire Sir Terence Matthews and Ann Matthews.-Early life:...

. The screenplay was written by Jon Knautz, Brendan Moore, and Trevor Matthews
Trevor Matthews
Trevor Matthews is a Canadian film producer and actor. He is the youngest son of telecommunications billionaire Sir Terence Matthews and Ann Matthews.-Early life:...

.

Plot

In order to re-ignite her career as a journalist and mend her relationship, Carmen (Cindy Sampson) invites her photographer boyfriend Marcus (Aaron Ashmore) and her intern Sara (Meghan Heffern) to the fictional Polish village of Alvania (the letter v is not part of the modern Polish alphabet
Polish alphabet
The Polish alphabet is the script of the Polish language, the basis for the Polish system of orthography . It is based on the Latin alphabet, but includes certain letters with diacritics: the line or kreska, which is graphically similar to an acute accent ; the overdot or kropka ; the tail or...

), to investigate the disappearances of several tourists there. The last person to go missing was Eric Taylor (Ben Lewis).

Upon reaching Alvania they find the village people to be secretive, unfriendly and unwelcoming, just as described in the last entry in Eric's journal. They also spot a strange dense area of fog which seems to be concentrated only in one portion of the forest, which is also mentioned in Eric's notes. They are threatened by the villagers and told to leave the village when they attempt to move towards the fog. Leaving the village initially, they return to the fog to investigate further at Carmen's insistence. Sara enters the fog first and disappears into it. Carmen enters the fog in order to find Sara, only to come across a devilish statue that seems to turn to face Carmen wherever she is. Upon exiting the fog, she finds Sara and Marcus. Sara and Carmen both talk about seeing the statue. Both are a bit disoriented and hear strange whispering voices.

A little girl from the village who claims to know the whereabouts of Eric takes them to a hidden sacrificial tomb, where they discover the bodies of people (including Eric) whom the village people have executed. Each body has a metal mask deeply embedded on its face making it look as though the villagers are practicing some kind of ritual black magic on the tourists who have disappeared in Alvania. Marcus, Sara and Carmen are suddenly surrounded by the villagers. After a struggle to escape they are finally followed and captured.

The head of the village's church then decides to sacrifice both Sara and Carmen as they had seen the statue. Sara is executed, but Marcus escapes and rescues Carmen. They enter a villager's house in order to get the keys to their truck. The house's owners warn Marcus about Carmen, saying that she is now dangerous and evil as she has seen the statue. Soon enough Carmen starts to experience voices and sights and suddenly is transformed and possessed by an evil spirit. She brutally kills the family and as she is about to kill Marcus, she is confronted by the villagers. She kills many of the other men including the village's religious leader, but she is ultimately executed by the village people in the same way they executed Sara, this time aided by Marcus who now understands why it was necessary to kill Sara and Carmen.

In the end Marcus is set free by the villagers. Upon asking, he is told that the fog and the statue are a curse to the village that cannot be undone.

Cast

  • Aaron Ashmore
    Aaron Ashmore
    Aaron Robert Ashmore is a Canadian film and television actor, perhaps best known for his role as Jimmy Olsen in Smallville and as Steve Jinks in Warehouse 13. He is the twin brother of actor Shawn Ashmore.-Career:...

     as Marcus
  • Cindy Sampson as Carmen
  • Meghan Heffern
    Meghan Heffern
    Meghan Heffern is a Canadian actress. She was born in Edmonton, Alberta and currently resides in Toronto, Ontario.-Television:* Flight 93 as Nicole Miller* Whistler as Britt...

     as Sara
  • Laura DeCarteret as Laura Taylor
  • Ben Lewis as Eric Taylor
  • Trevor Matthews
    Trevor Matthews
    Trevor Matthews is a Canadian film producer and actor. He is the youngest son of telecommunications billionaire Sir Terence Matthews and Ann Matthews.-Early life:...

     as Henryk
  • Connor Stanhope as Dariusz
  • Monica Bugajski as Emilia
  • Paulino Nunes as Henchmen #5
  • Jasmin Geljo
    Jasmin Geljo
    Jasmin Geljo is a Bosnian actor. He is best known for his roles on Cube Zero as Ryjkin and in the films Land of the Dead, Assault on Precinct 13 and The Sentinel.-Biography:...

     as Purple Cloaked Man #2
  • Danijel Mandic as Henchmen #7
  • Neil Davison as Henchman #3
  • Stefen Hayes as Aleksy
  • Voytek Skrzetaa as Henchmen #4
  • Ray Kahnert as Clerk
  • David Tompa as Henchmen #1
  • Julia Debowska as Lidia
  • Wally Michaels as Purple Cloaked Man #1
  • Alexander Krsticha as Henchmen #2
  • Vieslav Krystyan as Arkadiusz

Production

Trevor Matthews
Trevor Matthews
Trevor Matthews is a Canadian film producer and actor. He is the youngest son of telecommunications billionaire Sir Terence Matthews and Ann Matthews.-Early life:...

, Cindy Sampson, Ben Levis and Aaron Ashmore
Aaron Ashmore
Aaron Robert Ashmore is a Canadian film and television actor, perhaps best known for his role as Jimmy Olsen in Smallville and as Steve Jinks in Warehouse 13. He is the twin brother of actor Shawn Ashmore.-Career:...

 played in the leads. The shooting under the direction of Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer is a Canadian comedy horror monster movie produced by Brookstreet Pictures. The film was directed Jon Knautz and stars Trevor Matthews, Robert Englund and Rachel Skarsten. The film is about a plumber named Jack whose family gets slaughtered by a demonic beast. While...

s director Jon Knautz began in August 2009 in Pickering
Pickering, Ontario
Pickering is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, the largest metropolitan area in Canada.- Early Period :...

, Toronto and finished in September in Vaughan, Ontario
Vaughan, Ontario
Vaughan is a city in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Vaughan is the fastest growing municipality in Canada achieving a population growth rate of 80.2% between 1996–2006, according to Statistics Canada having nearly doubled in population since 1991. Vaughan is located in Southern...

. The Brookstreet Pictures production budget is set with a million and a half dollars. Jon Knautz wrote with actor Trevor Matthews and Brendan Moore the story. Matt Brulotte works as editor on the horror comedy film. The Fantasia Festival
Fantasia Festival
Fantasia International Film Festival is a genre film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996...

 screening is hosted by co-writer and director Jon Knautz and the lead actor Aaron Ashmore
Aaron Ashmore
Aaron Robert Ashmore is a Canadian film and television actor, perhaps best known for his role as Jimmy Olsen in Smallville and as Steve Jinks in Warehouse 13. He is the twin brother of actor Shawn Ashmore.-Career:...

.

Soundtrack

Ryan Shore
Ryan Shore
Ryan Shore is a Grammy Award nominated composer for film, television, records and games. He is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music and is the nephew of Academy Award winning composer Howard Shore.-Music career:...

 scored the official soundtrack.. Shore received a 2012 Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

nomination for Best Score Soundtrack for his score.
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