The Holy Roller (2010)
1h 29m | PG-13
A struggling preacher is tricked into starting a church in a nightclub by its unscrupulous owner, who sees it as a way to repay his gambling debts to an underworld boss. Things go from bad to worse when the underworld boss sends his number one hit-man to clean up the situation
Director: Patrick Gillies
Studio: N/A
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Video: 720p
Cast
Angus Benfield
as Pastor Luke
Victoria Abbott
as Kate
Jeremy Brennan
as Simon
Mark Hadlow
as Wally
Michael Maxwell
as Declan (as Mike Maxwell)
Martin Howells
as Reverend Bob
Reviews
***Fun, oddball New Zealand drama about a country minister who moves to the big city*** A struggling pastor (Angus Benfield) in rural New Zealand moves to the big city and sets up a church that meets at a bar. When it becomes successful serious complications arise. "The Holy Roller" (2010) is a quirky & amusing drama with faith-based roots. Benfield is basically the New Zealand version of Kevin James. Meanwhile his character’s possible romantic interest played by Victoria Abbott is cute and lovable. This is a fun, likable flick about noble intentions, failure, success, mistakes, penitence, forgiveness, love and renewed resolve. It only cost a $1 million to make, but it’s quite proficient for such a low budget. The only flaw is that kinks needed to be worked out in the storytelling (editing, whatever) to make it less muddled and more compelling. Still, it’s entertaining enough and has a certain pizazz. The film runs 1 hour, 28 minutes, and was shot in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand. GRADE: B-/C+