Olivia Colman isn't in Them That Follow a whole lot, but whenever she's onscreen—as Sister Slaughter, the dour, hardened matriarch of a small, isolated Appalachian community of snake-handling Pentecostals—she's all but unrecognizable from all of her other remarkable turns in everything from The Favourite to Broadchurch to Peep Show to The Night Manager to whatever else you want to mention. She's always great, and she's great again here, as a woman with subtle marks of a previous life—a tiny tattoo; a quiet sense of alarm; a glance that shows, however briefly, that she remembers what the outside world is like—only make her full-throated devotion to her religion and its cruel, lethal traditions all more terrifying.
Sister Slaughter's just one of the authority figures keeping a stern watch on Mara (Alice Englert), a young woman who's all but betrothed to the dorktacular Garrett (Lewis Pullman), an eager follower of Mara's glare-y, shouty father, Pastor Childs (Walton Goggins, predictably excellent). One problem with the whole betrothal thing, though: Neither Sister Slaughter, nor Garrett, nor Pastor Childs know that Mara's pregnant with the child of of the guy she actually loves, Augie (Thomas Mann), who can't wait to get the fuck out this ass-backwards place and never see a snake again.
Them That Follow presents a hypnotic vision of Appalachia—one where quiet woods, winding roads, and leaf-strewn hills are poisoned by nests of vipers, both literal and metaphorical.
Though it presents a hypnotic vision of Appalachia—one where quiet woods, winding roads, and leaf-strewn hills are poisoned by nests of vipers, both literal and metaphorical—Them That Follow probably takes too much time getting to its core drama. (Is a horrifying snakebite involved? Good guess.) But the performances carry it: Not only are Englert, Goggins, and Colman phenomenal, but even with smaller parts, actors like Jim Gaffigan and Kaitlyn Dever somehow embody rich characters who—thanks to fate, or desperation, or the wearying grind of tradition—are trapped in a zealous, all-or-nothing faith tha—GAH! SHIT! A SNAKE! GET THIS SNAKE THE FUCK OFF OF ME! THIS FUCKING THING IS FUCKING POISONOUS! FUCK!
Where was I? Oh, right: Grim and creepy and sad, Them That Follow offers a glimpse into a particularly fanatical brand of American Christianity, although I would not recommend it if you are scared of snakes, because—FUCK! FUCK! IT'S ON ME AGAIN! SHIT! SHIT SHIT SHIT! THE SNAKE KNOWS I DON'T BELIEVE IN JESUS! OH FUCK OH FUCK IT BIT ME OH SHI—
*Erik's neck bleeds and turns purple and swells until it looks like it's going to explode*
*Pentacostals pray instead of calling an ambulance*
*Erik dies*
Them That Follow opens Fri Aug 9 at Regal Fox Tower 10 and Century Clackamas Town Center.
