by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden
In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s Mysterious Ways by Tyler Eaton.
Synopsis
Two sibling youth pastors who accidentally possess a member of their youth group with a demonic spirit must stop her rampage on Halloween night, before Satanic forces usher in the End of Days.
The Good
Joseph: For this review, this was my second viewing of Mysterious Ways, the first being several months ago during its festival run. At that time, I thought that the humor often seemed rather specific to people who were raised in fundamentalist Christian families as kids, though the film serves up plenty of broader humor, too. On second viewing, I realized that although there indeed is plenty of humor specific to those currently or formerly in Christian youth groups, there is more than enough general humor to satisfy a wider range of viewers. In short, I had fun with my first viewing and an absolute laugh-out-loud blast with my second. Alyssa Sabo as Denise and Brandon Raman as her brother Charlie lead a cast that is obviously having a great time, and the pair have wonderful humorous sibling rivalry chemistry together. Sabo gives a fearless, all-in comic performance and Raman plays straight man to her impressively, although he also gets into comical situations. The emphasis here is more on comedy than horror, but writer/director Tyler Eaton shows a good knack for both elements.
Mike: Eaton manages to walk a very fine line with his satirical Mysterious Ways. Never teetering into being disparaging, the story manages to skewer a few things pretty well - from evangelical families to Bigfoot (!!) - All while delivering a decent message about faith and what it can mean to different people.
Sabo and Raman are great with each perfectly inhabiting their characters; Sabo as a bit manic and over-eager and Raman as more of the straight man. Both characters have their lessons to learn and they each do a stellar job playing off of one another.
The limited budget shows with a lot of the effects, but there’s so much positive energy going on with everyone involved that it’s easy to ignore a little hastily rendered CGI blood splatter and instead get caught up in the goings on.
The Bad
Joseph: Aside from the fact that the film’s title planted an earworm in my brain with the U2 song that shares the same title, I don’t have any real complaints with Mysterious Ways. For me, the chutzpah and verve on display from Eaton and his cast and crew overrule any shortcomings, budgetary or otherwise.
Mike: There’s a fair amount going on here with a half dozen or so plot points (every character gets their own arc, no matter how large or small) that need to play out during the hour and a half runtime, and while they’re all pretty well taken care of, it still feels a bit crammed towards the end. I think the same overall message and lessons learned could have been explored in a slightly tighter edit and making things move a little brisker in the second act.
Some of the humor may land flat for people accustomed to a less faith-based look at demonic shenanigans and expect a little more mainstream in their comedy, if that makes sense.
The Verdict
Joseph: Cheeky without being mean-spirited, Mysterious Ways playfully sends up the Left Behind books and the fear of kids who read them. Even if you have zero or little interest or experience in evangelical upbringing, give the film a shot, as it has your demonic possession comedy enthusiasm covered.
Mike: Despite some budgetary constraints, Mysterious Ways is a fun satirical look at evangelical faith and beliefs. Great performances by Sabo and Raman carry the film from beginning to end, playing off of each other with near perfect comedic timing. The message of differing beliefs and having faith in something isn’t heavy-handed and the humor never gets derogatory or malicious, making this a pretty decent gateway into harder demonic horror.
Mysterious Ways
Directed By: Tyler Eaton
Written By: Tyler Eaton
Starring: Alyssa Sabo, Brandon Raman, Eddie Pepitone
Run Time: 1h 29m
Rating: NR
Release Date: 2025
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