Penance Lane (2020) Review
The population of Chesterton just grew by one. Crimson Matthews (Tyler Mane), so fresh from the joint you can still see the cuff marks, just dropped his hitch-hiking boots onto Main Street. His car bomb temper has left a trail of shattered windows and broken jaws but Crimson is ready for a fresh start… perhaps wishful thinking considering his weakness for women in trouble.
Chesterton, however, could be a challenge. A ghost of a town since the mine shut down, Chesterton takes care of its own, and Crimson, with his glare and web of tattoos, is definitely an outsider. Then, Father John, guardian of the town’s hopes, who owns a dilapidated property on Penance Lane, extends a kindly hand and offers Crimson the job as handyman. Crimson eyes the once-beautiful estate and realizes this is a second chance for the both of them.
But when Crimson uncovers something hidden and long-buried within the walls of Penance Lane he unleashes a world of dark secrets and violent intent. With the threat of being dragged into its hellish depths, will Crimson finally learn when to walk away? Or will he drag the town of Chesterton into this nightmare prison greater than anything he’s ever known or even imagined?
I settled down to watch PENANCE LANE knowing as little as possible about it and I would suggest that you do the same, go in cold and you’ll enjoy it a hell of a lot more. At first it looks like the same-old, same-old and I found myself half-watching, half-looking at messages on my phone. I should have been paying more attention from the start. PENANCE LANE pulls the rug out from under your feet by going somewhere I totally never expected it to.
Director Peter Engert has fashioned a decent genre entry that offers violent thrills and unexpectedly twisted villains doing unexpectedly twisted things to those that fall into their midst. Mane and Compton, who last appeared together in Rob Zombie’s HALLOWEEN flicks, work well together and, for my money, this is the most agreeable that Compton has been in awhile, finally finding a script that allows her to be more than the scream queen she’s come to be labelled as.
At times PENANCE LANE reminds one of We Craven’s THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS with costumes lifted out of one of the MAD MAX films. It’s twisted, gory and fast-moving, subverting your expectations and offering up one lean, mean beast of a movie – recommended.