A well-meaning Catholic priest, desperate to act out the pinnacle of good samaritan cheer and Christmas charity, inadvertently allows a drifter and his girlfriend to take refuge in his deceased mother’s house for the holidays. Father David soon realises, that taking in strangers may not have been his best plan, as the visitors’ stay devolves into drug and alcohol binges, and he must perform a battle of wills to retain the autonomy of his home and life.
Father David is a pious priest who appears to strictly adhere to biblical verses and catholic indoctrination, however with his diminishing flock, he seems to be struggling with his faith. After a chance meeting with a homeless man, David invites him into his home for Christmas where his girlfriend soon joins them. David’s generosity is soon taken advantage of and he seems to be put through several trials by the heavy metal loving, drug and alcohol bingeing and orgy obsessed couple in which his faith and his piety are put through the wringer to see the type of man who will emerge out the other end.
seemingly upholding members of society and religion are the leeches on society rather than those who are typically deemed to be parasitic due to their social and wealth class.
Writer/director Eric Pennycoff has painted a psychedelic and hallucinogenic portrait of an apparent holy man who is saturated in hypocrisy, much like the Catholic Church itself. Preaching from the pulpit about the ways of Christ and religious devotion, Father David has plenty of skeletons hiding in his closet, that are brought starkly to the light once the couple has descended upon his living space. The Leech is at times comedic, whilst still retaining absolute tension over viewers, with unexpected twists and turns this morality tale depicts the fraud and deceit that the Catholic church has become known for.
Graham Skipper as Father David is fraught with anxiety and perfectly portrays a man whose world has been totally upended and must now fight against his own demons represented by the couple who have outstayed their welcome. The Leech is a perfect representation of the fact that sometimes, the seemingly upholding members of society and religion are the leeches on society rather than those who are typically deemed to be parasitic due to their social and wealth class.
