AMAZON PRIME REVIEW – PREACHER (2016 – 2019) – S1-S4
Based on: Preacher by Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon
Developed by: Sam Catlin, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg
Writer(s): Sam Catlin, Steve Dillon, Garth Ennis, Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen, Mary Laws, Olivia Dufault, Carolyn Townsend. Sara Goodman, Craig Rosenberg, Mark Stegemann, Gary Tieche, Rachel Wagner, Kevin Rosen, Jim McDermott, and many more.
Director(s): Michael Slovis, Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen, Wayne Yip, Sam Catlin, Michael Morris, John Grillo, Kevin Hooks, Laura Belsey, Iain B. MacDonald, Jonathan Watson, and many more.
Cast: Dominic Cooper, Joseph Gilgun, Ruth Negga, Lucy Griffiths, W. Earl Brown, Derek Wilson, Ian Colletti, Tom Brooke, Anatol Yusef, Graham McTavish, Pip Torrens, Noah Taylor, Julie Ann Emery, Betty Buckley, Mark Harelik, Tyson Ritter, and many more.
Cinematography: Bill Pope, John Grillo
Composer: Dave Porter
No. of seasons: 4
***CONTAINS TRACE SPOILERS***
Ever wanted to know who would win in a fight between Hitler and Jesus? Well, if you desire the answer then watch all four seasons of AMC’s graphic novel series adaptation, PREACHER. Because that is just one of the insane scenarios which ultimately rewards viewers who love controversial, violent and irreverent representations of holy, historical and fantastical characters.
Developed by Hollywood players Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, along with BREAKING BAD screenwriter, Sam Catlin, this darkly comedic post-modern vision of heaven, Earth and hell is based on the devilishly imaginative work of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. Starring the charismatic Dominic Cooper as hard drinking and former career criminal-turned Preacher, Jesse Custer, the first season finds him losing faith in a small Texan town and a dwindling set of hopeless parishioners. That is until one day he is struck by some twisted divine interpretation. Then, literally, all hell breaks loose as Custer battles his inner demons and the local slaughterhouse baron portrayed with callous joy by Jackie Earle Haley.
Like another Amazon Prime release, THE BOYS, I initially found PREACHER a little bit slow in terms of setting up the story and characters. But I think that was deliberate as there are so many crazy concepts relating to religion, angels, demons and the afterlife in here, a balance had to be given to combining the fantastic and more realistic elements. I’m not sure they’re wholly successful but there’s enough riotous and bloody anarchy to keep horror and comic book fans happy. Cooper is great as the anti-heroic holy man. Moreover, he is ably supported by the effervescent Ruth Negga as his tough-talking, fist-fighting and gun-toting ex-girlfriend, Tulip. English actor Joseph Gilgun arguably steals the show as Cassidy, the Irish sidekick with a dark secret. While the narrative moves slowly in the first season, the bloody gore levels during the fight scenes are absolutely spectacular. It was this and the litany of fascinating concepts relating to religious icons which kept my interest piqued.
Season 2 picks up the pace when Custer, Tulip and Cassidy go to New Orleans and literally try to find God. Here they encounter their major nemeses for the remainder of the series in, the damned Saint of Killers (Graham McTavish), and a nefarious group of Catholic fascists called The Grail. Further, Season 3 is arguably the strongest of the series as Jesse goes back home to fight the demons of the past, notably his grandmother, Madame L’ Angelle (Betty Buckley). She has done deals with Satan and happens to have put a deathly spell on Custer’s soul. This season is particularly hilarious because Cassidy meets a fellow creature of the night in New Orleans with bloody hilarious results. Lastly, in season 4, all of heaven and hell implodes as The Grail attempt to precipitate God’s planned apocalypse and only Jesse, Tulip and Cassidy can stop them. These series summations cannot begin to even touch the surface at the insanity of ideas and action on show. If you like your television safe and inoffensive, then DO NOT WATCH IT!
If, like me, you enjoy irreverent bible-black comedy which offends mainly Christian religions and contains lashings of ultra-violence, then PREACHER is definitely one to venture to the church of television for. There is not a lot of internal logic as the narrative chucks in the proverbial theological kitchen sink. Representations of angels, God, Jesus, Hell, Heaven, Satan, devils, vampires, and various other religious figures are all par for the course for the show. While the iconography, action and visual power of the series is a major strength, the core story of Jesse Custer searching for God was essentially a very loose structure with which to hang the many spectacularly crazy, violent and bad taste ideas on. However, I am glad I had the faith to witness such events because I was very entertained and ironically it made me believe more in God than any visit to a church has ever done. Because in PREACHER, this vision of God was extremely human and flawed and somehow more believable.
The Cinema Fix presents: 
Great review 🙂 Have not seen this yet, but your description of it sounds fascinating 🙂 Anyway, keep up the great work as always 🙂
Just out of curiosity, do you consider Ken Russell’s 1971 controversial masterpiece The Devils to be a horror film or only to an extent? 🙂
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Hi John, thanks for reading and being so positive 😁
I haven’t seen The Devils for a while, but I’d say it is not a horror film in the traditional sense. It kind of transcends genre and is more of psychological drama with horror elements.
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Gotcha 🙂 Since October is next month, do you usually make a reminder to yourself to watch director Edgar Wright’s 2004 cult zombie comedic classic Shaun of the Dead at that particular time? 🙂 I do and I still never tire of it 🙂
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That’s a good shout! I’ve seen Shaun of the Dead so many times that I know it back to front, but it’s a great film to watch on an annual basis 🙂
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