Legion - The end of days in the style of a war movie?

Legion is the supernatural thriller starring Paul Bettany as the archangel Michael, who is all that stands between mankind and an apocalypse after God has lost faith in humanity. But the Almighty apparently hasn't lost all hope -- a child is on the way who is the second coming of Christ, and a group of strangers who recognize the fact must band together to save it.

I mentioned it back in March.

Now Quiet Earth have some more news on the style of the film and a detailed synopsis.

The films director Scott Stewart said "I conceived LEGION more as a comic book action movie than a straight horror film. Despite the obvious horror elements, my primary influence when writing it was less DAWN OF THE DEAD or 28 DAYS LATER, and more the original TERMINATOR with its blend of intense action and inventive mythology.

Stylistically, I intend to ground the fantastic nature of the story in a gritty and realistic visual style. I want the audience to feel like they've been dropped right in the middle of the action, so they, like the characters in the film, experience the terror and chaos in a very direct and visceral way. In that regard, the best visual comparison to LEGION are not other horror films but contemporary war films like PLATOON and SAVING PRIVATE RYAN."

That sounds very cool and a great way to go in making this stand out from the supernatural crowd.

Now for the synopsis:

Without warning, on the night of December 23rd, the prisoners inside a Los Angeles jail go berserk, tearing each other apart. Only one is left standing: MIKE (Paul Bettany) . Meanwhile, in the tiny Mojave desert town of Paradise Falls, JEEP HANSEN (Lucas Black going back to his American Gothic roots) awakens from yet another fever dream and begins to draw. His walls are covered with nightmarish visions of fantastic creatures and heroes, including demon lord BELIAL and a mysterious figure... who looks an awful lot like MIKE.

Later that day while Jeep is working on a car the sky darkens. a mysterious black car arrives and the elderly GLADYS emerges. Inside the diner, BOB (Dennis Quaid), pregnant actress CHARLIE (Adrianne Palicki), the LYMANS, cook PERCY (Charles S. Dutton), and suspicious patron KYLE (Tyrese Gibson) watch Gladys eat a rare and bloody steak. Gladys then revels herself to be a hideous creature and attacks Howard and Bob. Kyle kills her with his .45. The diner is surrounded by thousands of flies, the power goes out and the group is trapped inside.

Mike arrives in a police car and distributes weapons to the group. He reveals that they are witnessing the first signs of a war between humans and a horde of the devil's minions. The demon-creatures converge on the diner and attack. The group fights back. While awaiting the next onslaught, Jeep finds a transmission on the radio explaining that all of human kind is under siege by demons. Apparently Las Vegas is the only haven left. Amidst the chaos, Charlie's water suddenly breaks and Audrey helps her deliver a baby boy.

Legion is set to star Dennis Quaid, Paul Bettany, Tyrese Gibson, Kate Walsh, Kevin Durand and Lucas Black.

I really like the sound of this. The story and, more importantly, the style tick all the right boxes for me. Paul Bettany as an archangel will be good and it puts me in mind of a bigger budgeted Prophecy - now it would be good if Christopher Walken had a cameo in this one.

Do you like the sound of this film? What do you want to see in it?

Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

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