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Book 6: Acts of the Apostles
We resume on the boat where Riley is now just a pile of ash. Erin rows back to the island. The sign on the church mentions Midnight Mass Easter Vigil is this weekend.
Erin goes to see Dr. Gunning and tells her the story about Riley. It’s crazy, but then there’s the doctor’s mother, so she’s got her own crazy story. She puts a bit of Mildred’s blood into the sunlight. Sizzle! The three women try to work out what’s been happening. She’s not sure if the process will go away on its own or not if they stop ingesting “the material.”
Somehow, Father Paul knows Riley has died. Bev has platitudes, which annoys Paul. “Who knows who he told?” She asks.
Ed, Annie, and Warren find letters from Riley in their beds. Ed comes to see Father Paul, and says the letters he got were “delusional.” He leaves the letters with Paul. Erin goes to Annie, who doesn’t believe Riley is dead.
Doctor Gunning goes to the sheriff, who doesn’t believe any of it. The sheriff explains why he moved to the island after 9/11. He doesn’t even carry a gun on this sleepy little island. Gunning, Mildred, and Erin go to the ferry to head to the mainland, but it’s not there. Sturge says that all the boats are being serviced today, and he reminds them about the Easter vigil— three times.
The power cuts off just after dark. The sheriff calls Sturge, who has his hand on the big switch, along with the mayor, and says to the sheriff that it just happens sometimes. He doesn’t know why. They plan on knocking out the cell tower later at night. Erin tells the others that she plans on going to the midnight mass tonight. The sheriff’s son wants to go to the mass, and he wants his father to go see the “big miracle” that is promised.
Bev starts a procession through town as everyone heads toward the church. Sturge cuts the cell tower wires; the island is completely cut off now. They all file into the church, followed last by Father Paul. Everyone is there. Paul does his confession: That he is Monsignor Pruitt, rejuvenated. He was “blessed by an angel of the lord and he brought him home. Tonight, the same will happen to each and every one of them.
Paul calls up Sturge, who drinks rat poison and dies. The sheriff tries to leave when the “angel” shows up blocking the door. He walks in so that everyone can see him and flairs out his huge wings. Sturge gets up, alive again. They bring out little cups of rat poison for everyone!
Everyone starts looking really uncomfortable when the poison is distributed with the demonic-looking angel standing before them. The sheriff finally draws a gun, and the others pull him down. Many of the people start chugging the poison and dying. Mildred picks up the gun and shoots Paul in the head; the demon swoops over and drags her outside.
Bev takes charge, but as the dead rise, they all hear hearts beating, including hers. Half the parishioners start eating the other half. A handful of people get out the back door. This was not what Paul had planned, but Bev thinks it’s all for the best.
Comments: Could this be any more “culty?”
Each and every one of these characters gets a ten-minute dramatic monologue sooner or later. This time, it was the sheriff. They’re good; they’re really good, but it is starting to feel more than a little drawn out. They are quite good at managing to convey a sense of growing tension and impending disaster, while not much happens— until all hell breaks loose.
What are they all going to eat now that they are all vampires? Well, there were a few who still aren’t infected..
Book 7: Revelation
A few hours have passed. Father Paul is back on his feet after being shot in the head. Mildred comes inside, awake after being killed and changed, and she looks to be about twenty years old now. Paul admits that he did the whole thing to save old Mildred from her impending death. It comes out that he is Dr. Gunning’s father; he was closer to Mildred than we knew.
Elsewhere, the newly-changed vampires are eating (and feeding) the rest of the village. Dr. Gunning, Leeza, Erin, Annie, Warren, and the sheriff are hiding in a house. Erin figures that the vampire’s plan is to get things to the mainland and start spreading it everywhere. They talk until Bev and Sturge throw a Molotov cocktail through the window. Annie goes out to stall while the others go out the back way. They spot the “angel” out there killing people.
Surge thinks they should put out the fire at the house since the winds are so strong, but Bev says let it burn. “Let all of it burn.” She likes the idea so much that the two of them set fire to more houses and businesses.
Annie finds Ed, and they’re both vampires now. They decide to fight the hunger. The sheriff, doctor, and Erin start filling gas cans to burn the boats in order to prevent the vampires from spreading.
Leeza and Warren find the main vampire feeding and shoot him several times but he doesn’t even notice them. They pour gasoline on him and set him on fire, and he notices that. Sturge tells the other vamps to burn every building but church and the rec center.
Bev comes into the church spouting her crap. She shows Paul and Mildred what’s been going on, and they are not pleased. Bev explains the plan to spread their “gospel” to the rest of the world. Father Paul recognizes that he was wrong all along. Bev loses it on him, telling how he was the weak point in all this, and she will lead the others.
Leeza and Warren grab a canoe and head offshore to avoid the carnage.
Bev starts rubbing it in with some of the locals who weren’t churchgoers. She starts telling Sturge who to exclude from the rec room, where they will all sleep through the day. Father Paul announces he’ll take the excluded into the church except he finds Dr. Gunning pouring gas throughout the church. He pauses and says it’s good, and that he’s proud of her. As they have their tearful farewell, Sturge shoots and kills her. Paul attacks him, but can’t kill him. Paul feeds the doctor some of his special blood, but she spits it out and dies for real. Mildred sets the church ablaze with Father Paul’s blessing.
Then they spot the sheriff pouring gas on the rec center. Bev calls him a terrorist and shoots him. This is the last building on the island he says before she shoots him again.
The demon swoops down and kills Erin. Before she dies, she slices up the monster’s wing while he’s busy feeding. The sheriff’s son picks up a lighter and sets the rec room on fire.
Where are all the vampires going to go now?
The sun starts to come up. The bat-winged demon tries to fly away but can’t get very far. It flies West, away from the sunrise, but it’s unlikely that he’ll get very far. Erin flashes back to her conversation with Riley about Death— she’s about to find out what happens. We watch as the various remaining now-vampiric characters wander around, knowing what’s about to happen. The sheriff finally dies.
Bev gets a frantic idea to dig a hole for herself as the sunrise approaches. The rest of the villagers all start singing hymns.
The sun comes up, and everyone bursts into flame. All the singing just suddenly stops, which was a nice detail. Warren and Leeza watch the island burn from their boat. Leeza says she can’t feel her legs.
The End.
Comments: The ending took so long to complete that the vampires could have simply dug some holes to hide in; Bev got the idea, but far too late. Surely the power plant or water works had a stone building. These guys were just ready to die at the end or something— the island is small, but surely some building remained. I assume since Leeza lost the use of her legs at the end that meant the magic, in the form of the big vampire demon thing, had also died.
Overall Commentary
It’s a super-slow burn, but it’s intended as a miniseries, so that’s not a bug, it’s a feature. You have plenty of time to get to know the setting and characters. On the other hand, many of the characters give hugely long speeches and monologues that are pretty divorced from the way real people talk. It’s beautifully written, but not realistic.
It is great that there’s time to develop theories, wonder what’s up with this or that action, and decide who knows what. It’s a mystery, a drama, and a horror story all in one.
The gore and creature special effects are good, but there’s not a huge bunch of it considering the run time. There’s a lot to be said here about religion, faith, and cults, but I’ll leave it to you to make those connections.
The final episode was a bit predictable in how it went, but the fun of this miniseries is the journey. All these characters are well-written, interesting, and have their own motivations for doing the things they do. It’s seven full hours of story, and it’s definitely worthwhile.