Having already screened in the US at Panic Fest, Sean Lynch’s The Ceremony is About to Begin gets its international premiere as part of Soho Horror’s virtual SoHome event. Lynch’s debut feature, Red Snow, saw him create what is potentially one of the only vampire Christmas movies in existence. In The Ceremony is About to Begin he takes on the popular found-footage genre, mixing cults and Egyptians into the mix.
Beginning as a documentary, The Ceremony is About to Begin has several former members of the Osiris Collective being interviewed. The cluster of talking heads discuss how they found the collective, and reminisce about the joyful times they experienced under the tutelage of Father. Their stories paint the picture of a cult with ties to ancient Egyptian gods, with each member given an Egyptian name. Whilst the organisation began harmless enough, the arrival of newcomer Anubis (Chad Westbrook Hinds), and the subsequent death of Father, caused most of those interviewed to leave. Intrigued about the collective, documentarian Keith Evans (John Laird) decides to visit what remains of the community to see the truth for himself. There he meets the enigmatic Anubis, who is far more dangerous than Keith originally thought.
The bulk of The Ceremony is About to Begin finds Keith alone interviewing Anubis on the grounds of the former Osiris Collective. It is quickly evident that the documentarian is out of his depth, with Anubis revealing themselves to be the ultimate slippery eccentric. The dynamic between the pair is reminiscent of that found with Patrick Brice’s Creep movies, and Chad Westbrook Hinds makes an excellent stand-in for Mark Duplass’ Josef. Where The Ceremony is About to Begin sets itself apart though is in the inclusion of the Egyptian artifacts. The history of Ancient Egypt is rich in horror elements and so it’s surprising that it hasn’t been mined that often within the genre before. Lynch weaves Ancient Egyptian theology and iconography throughout his film, with these elements contributing to the building of tension as the viewer tries to figure out where the story is headed.
Whilst much of The Ceremony is About to Begin does a great job of teasing its ending, the eventual conclusion is unexpected. It comes as a welcome shock and pays off the tension that has been built. The only drawback is that at barely seventy minutes, The Ceremony is About to Begin would benefit from a little extra time. This would enable Lynch to really ramp up the fear factor, which would in turn make the payoff even sweeter. As it stands though, The Ceremony is About to Begin is a solid entry into the found-footage genre of horror.
The Ceremony is About to Begin
Summary
The Ceremony is About to Begin borrows heavily from the dynamic found within Creep, with the inclusion of Egyptian artifacts helping set it apart from the crowd.
The Ceremony is About to Begin was reviewed at SoHome Horror Film Festival 2024.
