The Righteous is a 2021 Religious Horror film starring Henry Czerny, Mimi Kuzyk and Mark O'Brien, who also directed. After the loss of their young daughter, an ex-priest Frederic (Czerny) and his wife Ethel (Kuzyk) are visited by a mysterious stranger (O'Brien).
This film provides examples of:
- Ambiguous Situation: The film has this in spades. It's unclear if Aaron is really Frederic's long-lost son or a complete stranger, if he did kill Joanie as he says he did, if he killed Doris, or if he actually said or did anything unusual and the whole thing wasn't hallucinated by Frederic. The only thing we know for certain is that he did show up, and Frederic did kill him.
- Ambiguously Human: For the most part, Aaron's actions are entirely mundane, and he frequently references a concrete past, even if he is vague about it. On the other hand, he also knows things that maybe he shouldn't, makes a flower wilt with the touch of a hand, and in the climax, chokes people and throws them across the room without touching them. However, it's unclear if he's a human imbued with supernatural powers, another entity appearing as human, or if all the odd events are in Frederic's mind.
- Answer to Prayers: Played for Horror. The opening scene of the film shows Frederic, still a priest, praying for penance for an as yet unrevealed sin. Aaron comes as the answer, though it's not clear exactly who sent him.
- Converting for Love: Frederic left the priesthood to marry Ethel, though they both still believe in the faith itself.
- Death Seeker: Aaron's motivation.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Punishing Frederic for his sins is fair enough, but bringing about the end of humanity seems a bit much.
- Downer Ending: Frederic murders Aaron, his wife is terrified of him, and the police are on his doorstep to take him away. Doris is possibly dead too. Oh, and the apocalypse is about to begin.
- Evil Is Not Well-Lit: The lighting noticeably dims when Aaron confesses to killing Joanie.
- Foreshadowing: When Frederic seeks out Father Graham for guidance, they get talking about the apocalypse. Father Graham says that he sees sin everywhere, but he doesn't see horsemen in the streets or balls of fire in the sky. The final shot of the film is four balls of fire descending from the sky, heading straight for Frederic.
- Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Discussed by Frederic and Father Graham. They make an appearance at the end of the film.