Every once in a while, we come across something that changes our perception of what’s real and what’s not and makes us believe in the supernatural. Detective Clayton’s story in Impuratus is no different. He used to be a man who aimed to see the logic and reasoning behind everything. Little did he know that his fate was planning to pit him against something that would change his entire worldview.
Detective Clayton (Tom Sizemore) was planning to leave his job, probably for one where he didn’t have to see dismembered pictures of men, women, and kids. Someplace where he could work while keeping his peace and faith in the world alive; unfortunately, the police department was not that place and often took a heavy toll on Clayton’s mental health. However, Clayton saw this as a necessary evil and realized he had to carry this burden. However, he can no longer reason with himself anymore, and thus, he is planning to find a new job.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Did Clayton Douglas Visit The Asylum? Who Is Glassman?
Clayton visited the Pennsylvania Lunatic Asylum after being invited by Doctor Heysinger (Robert Miano). Clayton met Heysinger, who, was always annoyed because his prized asylum was both underfunded and neglected. People in high places sent their unwanted items rather than donations. Heysinger somehow managed to keep the lights on by accepting special cases. Heysinger told him about Daniel Glassman (Jody Quigley), the most deranged and mysterious man he’d ever met. The only reason Heysinger hadn’t transferred him was because Glassman was a puzzle. Glassman took part in the Civil War but was presumed dead in the Battle of Chambersburg. Surprisingly, he was found in a barn in Stroudsburg some two decades later. However, Clayton believed Glassman was pretending to be a lunatic to avoid the death penalty. If you didn’t know, the penalty for desertion during the Civil War was death. Glassman was on his deathbed and was constantly asking for Clayton Douglas to visit him on a special day: the day of his deceased son’s birthday. The reason was that he wanted Clayton to know what he had to say. Heysinger believed Glassman was possessed (he didn’t use the exact words) by something that was keeping him alive, and once he had given his statement, that link would be severed, and Glassman would die.
What’s Inside The Envelope?
At first, Glassman looked like he was no longer among the living. He displayed all the typical signs of a lifeless person: no breath, no movement, a foul odor, cold skin, and whatnot. However, there was still some life left in him, though regrettably, not enough for him to speak. So, he made a nurse, Betty Ackerman, type his confession earlier and requested that it be opened only in front of Clayton. Thus, the contents of the envelope had been unknown until now. The statement wasn’t a one-liner but contained Glassman’s entire account from the day he joined the Civil War to the day when he was found 21 years later. Glassman talked about how he was wounded in the war and dragged away by a mysterious man he thought was his savior. However, Clayton soon grew anxious and tried to leave, but his steps froze when Glassman informed him that his daughter would die. Moreover, he also uttered the words “The Spinozis.”
Who Were The “Spinozis?”
The Spinozis were an unfortunate family, and coincidentally, Clayton’s focus in the first case. The entire family was butchered by an axe in the bed in January of 1998, the same day Daniel requested Clayton’s audience. The only son went missing before the murders, similar to his father and grandfather, who also disappeared 30 years ago, before his disappearance. Clayton was put in charge of the case, but he never managed to crack it. Clayton was confident that Daniel came into the institution with intent or that someone had fed him everything about Clayton to terrorize him and his family. He demanded to see the list of every person who had ever worked in the place, dead or alive, so he could personally interview them. It was clear from the start that Daniel was possessed by something evil. I mean, how else would you explain the reason behind his demonic laugh? Sore throat? I don’t think so!
Who Were Gabe Proctor And Elsie Proctor? What Happened To Daniel Glassman?
Daniel continued his account of what happened to him. He woke up inside a cottage and found his wounds dressed and stitched. He was under the care of the Proctor family, and unlike Elsie Proctor (Silvia Spross), her husband, Gabe (Lew Temple), wasn’t too thrilled to treat an uninvited guest. Maybe because Daniel was a soldier, while Gabe was a religious man who hated even the mention of war. Gabe even denied his request to send a word to his army to inform them about his condition and seek help. Daniel was dying and found his body shutting down. Soon, things took a turn for the worse, and Daniel realized something was not right with the place.
He often overheard the neighing of the horse and distant cries of children, even though Gabe claimed that there was not a single soul living in the region except him and his wife. Not to mention the old woman who kept snoring and shaking his bed every night. Plus, he kept having this feeling that someone was trying to kill him or, at the very least, scare him. In reality, the snoring woman was Elsie’s mother, and the girl, Gail was her daughter. One day, when Elsie’s mother returned from the woods, she didn’t seem to be herself and was left crippled. Soon, Elsie’s daughter fell ill, too. So, the woman Daniel was seeing in the room was Elsie’s mother. But according to Elsie, her mother hadn’t walked in 13 years.
What Happened To Father Spinozi?
Elsie’s mother was possessed by a devil that gave her the ability to move. Moreover, the evil kept fluctuating between the old woman’s and Gail’s bodies. Gail, once under her possession, killed her priest in the very room Daniel was restricted to. In reality, Gabe fetched Father Spinozi to perform an exorcism on Gail. Spinozi believed that if the exorcism didn’t kill her, she’d be free of the demon. But unfortunately, things went south, and both Spinozi and his nephew were killed by the evil. Later, Gabe buried those bodies so no one could know about what happened to them. Ever since then, Gabe has been forced to keep Gail in the shed so she doesn’t kill anyone. The evil that had possessed Gail preyed on the children and used their parents’ suffering to become strong. And since Daniel wasn’t married, Gabe felt he was the only one who could save them. He requested that Daniel shoot and kill his entire family the next day to free them from the evil.
Why Did Clayton Kill Himself?
Gabe found Daniel floating five feet above the floorboard. Gabe pulled Daniel down, and the latter honored his deal and killed Elsie and Gabe. Elsie’s mother tried to follow him out of the house, but Daniel shot her down. Daniel then entered the barn and killed Gail as well. So, did the evil escape with Daniel? And even if it did, how did it manage to kill the Spinozi family? It was possible that after Daniel escaped, he contacted the Spinozi family, maybe to tell them what happened to Father Spinozi and his niece. This is where the evil possessed the Spinozi boy and made him kill his entire family.
In the present, Daniel knocked down Rose (Airen DeLaMater), Heysinger, and Clayton and then made his way to the chapel to show his superiority. The evil then tries to lure Clayton in to kill him by picking on his tragic memories, including his daughter’s disability and his son’s death. Daniel, for a while, managed to gain control and begged him not to kill the evil, as this was what it really wanted. Unfortunately, Clayton refused to take Daniel’s advice, shot him, and was immediately possessed by the entity. Clayton then went to his home to kill his family. However, he managed to fight it and kill himself. With no vessel, the evil was once again forced to enter Daniel’s body. Impuratus ended with the evil possessing Daniel once again.
It all started with Elsie’s mother, who brought back the evil entity from the woods into her household. Soon, her granddaughter, Gail, fell sick. The only reason the evil didn’t possess Gabe and Elsie was so it could gain strength from their desperation and pain. When Daniel killed Elsie’s mother, he invited evil into his body. This is how the evil escaped from the proctor’s house. When Clayton shot Daniel, he also gave permission to the evil to take his body. But he fought back and killed himself. This left the evil with no host, and it had to possess Daniel again. It was possible that the evil chose Clayton because it could sense the darkness inside his heart. In the final scene, Clayton confessed to killing his son by accident. So, the evil wanted to use the darkness inside his heart for its own interests.
Final Verdict
Impuratus is absolutely fantastic, and a big round of applause goes to Mike Yurinko for creating such a haunting and brilliant film. It’s not your typical horror film with lots of jump scares. If as a viewer, you are expecting that then this might not be a good choice. However, if you appreciate horror for its well-developed characters and finely-paced story, this is a gold mine. Instead of rushing through everything, Impuratus takes its time, oscillating between the past and present, to build the story. Tom Sizemore and Jody Quigley deliver outstanding performances as Detective Clayton and Daniel Glassman. Unfortunately, Impuratus was Tom Sizemore’s final movie, as he passed away this year, leaving his fans with a vast filmography to cherish.
