'GLORIOUS': A Glorious Rest Stop (Movie Review)

8/18/2022

Cosmic Horror (or Lovecraftian Horror) has been a staple for a while but has recently come back into the light in recent years. Lovecraft Country, Color Out of Space, and The Lighthouse are a few of the many shows and movies where the love for the "out there" weird type of horror still exists. Much is the case with Glorious, directed by Rebekah McKendry.

Glorious is about Wes drinking his sorrows away after a breakup. The next morning, he finds himself locked in a rest-stop bathroom with an otherworldly figure in the next stall in need of his help. Taking place primarily in the bathroom, the weight of the movie falls on the actors. Wes is played by Ryan Kwanten, who has dabbled in the horror genre before with Dead Silence and J.K. Simmons (who needs no introduction) is the voice of the otherworldly figure Ghat. Both actors bring the necessary chops to fill the void between the two stalls and leave very little to wonder.

Glorious is short with a runtime of 79 minutes, which is the only real downside because it left me wanting more or at least another scene. J.K. Simmons has cemented himself in the industry to where his voice carries so much emotional weight. When you hear him talk from the next stall, you instantly know it is him, but at the same time, you feel uncomfortable because you're in the bathroom with a stranger. That is where most of the ominous intent stems. We are never truly sure of what Ghat wants. Wes attempts to sneak a look at one point and is immediately filled with regret as Ghat fills him with a memory of Wes's recent breakup. The visual quickly turns sour with Wes's ex unhinging her jaw and sending us back to the bathroom floor.

Cosmic horror likes to slowly creep its way under your skin and make you feel uncomfortable by the time you get to the end. That honestly is well done in this film. There are moments you are just enjoying the dialogue and then you get hit with a "what the hell" scene. Not always searching for the jump scare, but looking for the best way to get you to move around in your seat. Glorious did that for me because it wasn't what I expected. The unknown in the stall next door mixed with the squelching noises made me uncomfortable in anticipation. Although we never saw the actual demon, the mystery of what it could have looked like terrifies me still. A short watch but worth it, check out Glorious on Shudder or Amazon Prime Video.

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Author

Hoping to break into the horror genre, Justin Cook McAfee graduated with a creative writing degree from Full Sail University. Since then, he has picked up videography, volunteered at the Sundance Film Festival, and started his own podcast. With his ever growing movie collection, Justin hopes to one day write and direct his own films. Until that moment calls, he spends his nights in the dark watching new horror movies. Justin is excited to be a part of the HorrOrigins team and ready to further his writing talents. Who would have thought seeing Mufasa die so many times as a kid would push him to horror?

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