''Revelation'' is a 2001 British supernatural

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by Stuart Urban and starring

James D'Arcy James D'Arcy (born Simon Richard D'Arcy; 24 August 1975) is an English actor and film director. He is known for his portrayals of Howard Stark's butler, Edwin Jarvis, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series '' Agent Carter'' and the ...

, Natasha Wightman,

Udo Kier Udo Kierspe (born 14 October 1944), known professionally as Udo Kier, is a German actor. Known primarily as a character actor, Kier has appeared in more than 220 films in both leading and supporting roles throughout Europe and the Americas. He h ...

and

Terence Stamp Terence Henry Stamp (born 22 July 1938) is an English actor. Stamp is known for his sophisticated villain roles. He was named by ''Empire Magazine'' as one of the 100 Sexiest Film Stars of All Time in 1995. He has received various accolades inc ...

. It tells the story of the final search for an ancient relic known as the Loculus, dating back to 50 AD, and the relic's effect on the Martel family and the world.

Plot

In two flashbacks, a relic is created in 50 AD, then hidden by Jews from a Crusader mob in medieval

Rennes-le-Château Rennes-le-Château (; oc, Rènnas del Castèl) is a commune approximately 5 km (3 miles) south of Couiza, in the Aude department in the Occitanie region in Southern France. In 2018, it had a population of 91. This hilltop village is k ...

. In present-day Rennes-le-Château, an academic under instructions from Magnus Martel is seen with the relic—the Loculus—researching on the ground to find the right place to hide it. Magnus' son Jake, an ace cryptographer, is released from

Wormwood Scrubs Prison HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs (nicknamed "The Scrubs") is a Category B men's local prison, located opposite Hammersmith Hospital and W12 Conferences on Du Cane Road in the White City in West London, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's ...

and recruited by his father for research on the Loculus. Magnus reveals that the Loculus relates to the Knights Templar and its sinister successor organisation known as "the Order", and in secret receives calls from this organisation threatening him if he does not accelerate his research, in spite of this, Magnus realises the Loculus' massive power for good or evil and has hidden it to ensure it does not fall into the Order's hands. After breaking a code on the Loculus to reveal the word " palingenesis,” Jake hides whilst members of the organisation kill and flay his father. Jake then flees with another researcher on the project, an occultist named Mira, and seeks help from the Roman Catholic priest Father Ray Connolly. The trail takes the three characters to (among others) a

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

library to research

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a " natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...

's involvement in attempting to unlock the Loculus and to Rennes-le-Château and its Tour Magdala. They discover that the Loculus is related to Christian

eschatology Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that nega ...

and has been hidden on

Patmos Patmos ( el, Πάτμος, ) is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. It is famous as the location where John of Patmos received the visions found in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament, and where the book was written. One of the northern ...

, writing-place of

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

's ''

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...

''. Father Connolly stays behind in London as backup while Mira and Jake go to Patmos and find the Loculus hidden in a crypt beneath a

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

church and former temple to Mary Magdalene as

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols inclu ...

. Using the reflective properties of a hermaphrodite symbol on the Loculus they reveal a hexagram built into the floor, an occult symbol. Jake and Mira disrobe and make love within the symbol in an attempt to unlock it, experiencing a vision of themselves as Christ and Mary Magdalene before fleeing into the crypt when they hear a pursuer approaching. The pursuer turns out to in fact be Father Connolly and together they finally work out the Loculus' meaning—its significance in fact lies in the four nails holding it together, which are those used to

crucify Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

and retain organic matter with his DNA, preserved in a ceremony on

Mount Hebron The Hebron Hills, also known as Mount Hebron ( ar, جبل الخليل, translit=Jabal al-Khalīl, he, הר חברון, translit=Har Hevron), are a mountain ridge, geographic region, and geologic formation, comprising the southern part of the J ...

. The Templars and the Order have continually attempted to use the DNA on it to resurrect Christ (including one failed attempt by Newton), but have failed until the genetic advances of the present day. The three argue as to what to do with the discovery—Jake concurs with his dead father and wishes to destroy it to keep it out of the Order's hands, whilst Ray wishes to take it to a trustworthy African cardinal at the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

. Ray prevails and traps the other two, but on arrival in Rome the Order's Grand Master seizes the Loculus, puts Ray under torture and sends troops to kill Mira and Jake. The couple manage to flood the chambers with sand to kill the troops and the church's monks are alerted to the couple's plight by an emergency postcard sent by Connolly before his departure, but only Mira manages to escape—Jake is fatally buried. In the meantime the Grand Master has cloned Christ and had him not only proclaimed the Messiah by the Vatican but put under his own tutelage and control, so that he can brutalize him and rule the world through him. The film closes with Mira realising that she (Magdalene's descendant) has given birth to a child by a Martel (Christ's descendant via the

Merovingian dynasty The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

) and that she must keep him secret from the order (as predicted by ''Revelation'' 12.4) so as to oppose the Grand Master's puppet Christ.

Cast

* Natasha Wightman as Mira *

as The Grand Master * Diran Meghreblian as Craftsman *

David Urban David Urban (born March 6, 1964) is an American lobbyist, political operative and political commentator for CNN, and Executive Vice President for North American corporate affairs at ByteDance. He served as a senior advisor to the 2016 Donald Tru ...

as Child with Loculus * Uri Roodner as Jewish Alchemist * Coryse Borg as Jewish Alchemist's Daughter * Manuel Cauchi as Mob Priest * Anna Beck as Jewish Alchemist's Wife *

Heathcote Williams John Henley Heathcote-Williams (15 November 1941 – 1 July 2017), known as Heathcote Williams, was an English poet, actor, political activist and dramatist. He wrote a number of book-length polemical poems including ''Autogeddon'', ''Falling ...

as New Age Man *

as Magnus, Lord Martel * Ben Feitelson as Tour Guide at Rennes le Chateau *

as Jake Martel * Joe Johnson as Young Jake Martel * Alan Talbot as Limo Driver *

Celia Imrie Celia Diana Savile Imrie (born 15 July 1952) is an English actress and author. She was described in 2003 as one of the most successful British actresses of recent decades. She is best known for her film roles, including the '' Bridget Jones'' f ...

as Harriet Martel, Jake's mother *

Derek Jacobi Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as ''Hamlet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', '' Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', '' The Tempest'', ''Kin ...

as Librarian * Mark Dymond as Backpacker in Malta *

Pip Torrens Philip D'Oyly "Pip" Torrens (born 2 June 1960) is an English actor. Known for playing urbane, authoritative figures, Torrens portrayed courtier Tommy Lascelles in the Netflix drama ''The Crown'', aristocrat Lord Massen in the HBO series ''Th ...

as Prof. Claxton *Nicolas Chagrin as Pompous Academic *

Ron Moody Ron Moody (born Ronald Moodnick; 8 January 1924 – 11 June 2015) was an English actor, composer, singer and writer. He was best known for his portrayal of Fagin in ''Oliver!'' (1968) and its 1983 Broadway revival. Moody earned a Golden Globe ...

as Sir

* Miles E. Gregius as Knight Commander *

Oliver Ford Davies Oliver Robert Ford Davies (born 12 August 1939) is an English actor and writer, best known for his extensive theatre work, and to a broader audience for his role as Sio Bibble in ''Star Wars'' Episodes I to III. He is also known for his role ...

as Prof. Casaubon * Charlotte Weston as Lord Martel's PA * Paul Birchard as General Demolay, NSA Director * Chris Rogers as Newsreader * Robert Hudson as Director, Serious Fraud Office *Mark Heenehan as Gen. Demolay's Aide *

Liam Cunningham Liam Cunningham (born 2 June 1961) is an Irish actor. He is known for playing Davos Seaworth in the HBO epic-fantasy series ''Game of Thrones''. Cunningham has been nominated for the London Film Critics' Circle Award, the British Independe ...

as Father Ray Connolly * Jean-Marc Perret as Newton's Acolyte *

Vernon Dobtcheff Vernon Dobtcheff (born 14 August 1934) is a British actor, best known for his roles on television and film, he has acted in numerous stage productions. Biography Dobtcheff was born in Nîmes, France, of Russian descent. He attended Ascham Pre ...

as Curé at Rennes-le-Chateau *

Nicholas Murchie Lucy Jane Robinson (born 1966) is a British actress working mostly in television. Her television roles include Louisa Hurst in ''Pride and Prejudice'' (1995), Robyn Duff in the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth series of ''Cold Feet' ...

as Biotechnologist *

Earl Cameron Earlston Jewitt Cameron, CBE (8 August 19173 July 2020), known as Earl Cameron, was a Bermudian actor who lived and worked in the United Kingdom. After appearing on London's West End stage, he became one of the first black stars in the Briti ...

as Cardinal Chisamba * Joseph Long as Brigadiere * Massimo Marinoni as Police Torturer * Danica Bezanov as TV Reporter * Andreas Markos as Abbot at Patmos Monastery * Sidney Kean as Europolitician * Lolly Susi as American Politician * Vicky Paritoglou as Greek Orthodox Nun

Locations

Much of the film is shot on location, including on

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

Awards

Nominated for "Best Film" (2001) in the Sitges – Catalan International Film Festival.

Reception

Overall reception was hostile. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', for example, noted the film's "rag-bag of extraordinary cameos" but criticised the "vulgar heresies" on which it was based and likened the "significant, ritual sex with a beautiful alchemist" with the "clean-limbed young hero" to an Occult-based sketch in ''

Not the Nine O'Clock News ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' is a British television sketch comedy show which was broadcast on BBC2 from 1979 to 1982. Originally shown as a comedy alternative to the '' Nine O'Clock News'' on BBC1, it features satirical sketches on then-cur ...

''. ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'' wrote of the film as "ludicrous", a "farrago", "straight-faced" and "the fag end of a millennial cycle of apocalyptic pictures".

References

External links

* *
''Revelation''
at Rotten Tomatoes {{DEFAULTSORT:Revelation (2001 Film) 2001 films 2001 thriller films 2000s supernatural thriller films 2000s English-language films 2000s British films Films about religion British supernatural thriller films Films set in France Films set in Greece Films set in Rome Films set in London Films shot in Malta Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films shot in France Films set in Cambridge British thriller films Films set in the 1st century Treasure hunt films Films directed by Stuart Urban Knights Templar in popular culture Cultural depictions of Isaac Newton