Co-writer/director Tyler Cole’s Deacon unfolds like Frailty meets Primal Fear in a sacramental serial killer noir which by the power Christ compels you to brave its runtime and learn the power of a well-kept secret. Cole is Deacon, a lone wanderer who has returned to take a position in the church and the city where his devotion and dedication toward serving the Lord began. But, in the time since his youth, the city and its parish have fallen prey to the Devil’s temptations.
Under the guidance of his senior Father Gerald Roberts (Ken Duncan), Deacon is introduced to Lt. Linus Carter (Bradley Pierce), a local cop who consults with the church when a crime contains elements requiring spiritual invention. Deacon begins his residency, taking to the confessional and hearing the vilest, deepest, deadliest sins. Everything to purposeful harm to a potential serial killer come to him seeking absolution, and soon the madness of keeping all of this evil stirs something in Deacon, forcing him to take action.
He breaks several times from his position, passionately urging those who come to his booth to seek real help for the real problems that plague them, for while God will forgive them, he his not responsible if they continue to delight in vices which lead to human suffering. As the story progresses, we learn the depths of some people’s depravity, whilst Deacon gives his sermons by day and battling demons by night. We encounter ritualistic killer, strange phenomena and a man convinced he is the reincarnation of Jesus who kills both himself and his wife, believing it to be his destiny.
“Deacon begins his residency, taking to the confessional and hearing the vilest, deepest, deadliest sins.”
All the while, the Deacon and Lt. Carter trade notes and search for meaning in the anarchy as first Father Roberts turns up dead, then a cascade of mysterious and incomprehensible incidents collides, leaving all the evidence and accusing fingers pointing toward the new Deacon. He’s confronted by a reporter who tries to bait the Deacon, stating that eventually the path of truth is going to lead back to the church. And then all the secrets will come out.
Carter may be a soft-spoken cop, but he knows the bitter agony of being a victim of the violent crime he tries to keep out of the city. He meticulously trails Deacon. Checking with witnesses and collecting the clues as every character that becomes entangled in the plot’s web of intrigue and unceremoniously dispatched.
As the threads come together and a killer will be revealed, Carter and the Deacon stand on opposite sides of the divide as this earth-based war between Heaven and Hell explodes amid stark, high-contrast black and white visuals, which beautifully accompany an industrial-sounding score that adds a raw edge to the feeling of impending dread.
Cole delivers a film of ambitious scope, meshed together with a magnetic central performance that carries enough charisma to render his character magnetic. Deacon is a murder/mystery cleverly crafted and righteously realized. It will reward the faithful, strike down the wicked, and leave wondering if all those who profess purity are indeed pure, or do they hide a darkness all-consuming?
"…delivers a film of ambitious scope..."
