Them That Follow Movie Review

Them That Follow (2019)

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Written by: Britt Poulton, Dan Madison Savage    
Directed by: Britt Poulton, Dan Madison Savage 
Starring: Olivia Colman, Kaitlyn Dever, Alice Englert, Jim Gaffigan, Walton Goggins
Rated: R
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Plot
Set deep in the wilds of Appalachia, where believers handle death-dealing snakes to prove themselves before God, a pastor's daughter holds a secret that threatens to tear apart her community.

Verdict
There isn't much to this. The movie relies on the premise of a snake charming church for far too long. It doesn't have any stakes to drive the movie. Since there's no tension, this drags. When there's finally some conflict, this movie is already over.
Skip it.

Review
I'll watch almost anything Goggins is in. Dever did this movie before she got wide acclaim in Booksmart.

Snakes are unnerving in general so that makes this movie all the more difficult with a rural church handling snakes. The belief is that if you are pure, holy, or righteous God won't allow the venomous snake to bite you.

Lemuel (Walton Goggins) is the leader of this church, and I really expected more from him story wise. We're told he's had run in with the cops, but I was hoping for something more conspiratorial to carry the story. There's a snake catching scene early on that I assumed the movie would draw out to create a mood and increase the fear level. That scene ends before it begins.

Walton Goggins plays Lemuel

Lemuel's daughter Mara (Alice Englert) is being pushed into an arrange marriage. I get this is showing us how this religion works,but what's the purpose? The movie coasts on this premise for too long. It keeps pointing too this community that not just lives this but believes this. With no conflict, this is interminably long. The cops are mentioned, but it doesn't affect the story.

Alice Englert plays Mara

If Lemuel was slimier, marrying his daughter off for self gain or to pointedly avoid jail, that would give the plot drive. Later in the movie a character is forced to handle a snake. I can't believe this scene occurs so late. The snake coils around his arm, and we see the fear in his eyes. It's too short, but what are the stakes here? Is Mara the center of the story, and it's a question of what the church will do to her? The movie isn't her trying to get out. She has a problem, but there's not a proposed solution.

We get a crazy premise with a snake handling church, but the movie doesn't know what to do after that. Lemuel could be the antagonist that pushes the story forward, but he's not. Mara's drive could be to escape the church, but she doesn't know what to do. The movie just coasts.