Sundance 2011 Review: THE CATECHISM CATACLYSM was Senselessly Deranged

The Catechism Cataclysm was absurdly bizarre, and is definitely one of the most oddball movies that I’ve seen up at the Sundance Film Festival. I was expecting a far-out comedic adventure, and that's what this was, but it’s also got a good amount of, “what the hell is this?!” moments. 

The film had several laugh-out-loud moments, and I thought it was funny, but there are aspects of it that completely throw you off with some of the characters and events that were added to this crazy tale. 

The story is about a young priest named Father Billy, who hunts down an old high school friend named Robbie, who reluctantly meets up with Father Billy and agrees to go on a little day canoe trip down the river. While on the canoe trip, the two share some fun stories and talk about themselves and how they feel in this moment of their lives. During the final stretch of the canoe trip, they run into two bubbly Japanese girls that thrust the story into a whole new realm of weirdness and insanity. 

I won’t go into any details of what happened; I’ll leave those for you to find out for yourself if you ever decide you want to go out and watch the movie when it eventually gets released. But unless you’ve seen the movie already, you can’t even imagine what lays ahead of you.

The film was interestingly directed by Todd Rohal and stars Steve Little and Robert Longstreet, who were both very fun to watch in their roles. But Little as Father Billy was annoyingly hilarious.

I definitely recommend watching this film when you get a chance, just to see how senselessly deranged it is and to experience the movie.

Here’s the synopsis for the film: 

Father Billy, a young priest who has lost interest in the church, decides to take a sabbatical. He tracks down his high-school friend Robbie, who begrudgingly agrees to a canoe trip. On the water, the two men reminisce about Billy’s days as the keyboardist in a Christian band and Robbie’s as a guitarist for a metal band, but when night approaches, they realize they have lost their way—and that’s when things get weird.