Pastor’s Blood 1 & 2

I have never had the time to sit through Nollywood movies. Reason is, either most of the themes are watered-down or exploitative, or the movie is just too long for this viewer. I managed to sit through Pastor’s Blood 1 & 2 and these gruesome films just didn’t deliver.

Pastor’s Blood is the story of Akirika, a village voodoo tyrant out to settle a land dispute. In the process to own the property, Akirika uses voodoo to kill his opponent. In the Igbo land, murder by any means is an abomination, and once proven guilty, the accused must be hanged. So to cover his act, Akirika goes on a witness killing spree.

For the story’s subplot, screenwriter Michael Oji invented a young evangelical preacher who comes back to his village to spread the gospel, digs out Akirika’s voodoo, and puts an end to the killings. Like Christ who died unjustly, the preacher, in a bizarre twist of fortune, gets embroiled in a case of rape and is then hanged by the council of elders. Abruptly, the story ends.

Don’t get me wrong if I missed Pastor’s Blood 3 where Akirika may have got his equal reward for evil, but to end the story in such an abrupt manner with no resolution that bridges the two plots, or even an AFTERWARD statement informing viewers what befalls Akirika, is like the filmmakers are glorifying juju justice.

Ali Baylay, USA