WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? Adult, spiritual horror in the vein of The Exorcist stands out in post-Scream era. Religious themes are bound to cause controversy. Plus: Patricia Arquette's head drips blood!

THE CAST

PATRICIA ARQUETTE: You may remember her as Christian Slater's partner in crime from True Romance. Other notable genre credits include Ed Wood, Lost Highway, and Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.

GABRIEL BYRNE: You may remember him from over 50 films, including: Polish Wedding, Smilla's Sense of Snow, and Miller's Crossing.

MARK ADAIR-ROOS: If you're really obsessive, you'd remember him from Doctor Dolittle (intern), Speed 2 (Engine Room Crew Member #1), and Courage Under Fire (Bobcat 5).

PATRICK MULDOON: You may remember him as Jane's evil boyfriend Richard ("Or is it Dick now?") on Melrose Place and Starship Trooper Zander, the pilot who proved that a Melrose Place cast member with his brains sucked out isn't a redundancy.

JONATHON PRYCE: You may remember him as: Elliot Carver from Tomorrow Never Dies. Other credits include Ronin and Evita.

PORTIA DE ROSSI: You may remember her as Nell, the lawyer with the hair you would kill for on Ally McBeal. Also: the "Hi! No, I really mean that, hi!" girl from Scream 2.

THE CREW

RUPERT WRAINWRIGHT: Director of that epitome of primordial terror known as Blank Check. Other credits include 1991's Dillinger, in which he also directed Patricia Arquette.

FRANK MANCUSO: Producer with prolific genre credits has nonetheless never made a really good film; he counts among his credits Friday the 13th Parts 2-7, Cool World, Back to the Beach and the Species movies.

OTHER: Stigmata is an MGM production, but I heard it's supposed to be good anyway. Script by Tom Lazarus and Rick Romage; cinematography by the talented Jeffrey Kimball (Wild Things, True Romance).

THE PREMISE: Patricia Arquette is viciously assaulted by an unknown "attacker"; the nature of the incidents cause Jonathon Pryce, who is a Vatican official, to send high priest Gabriel Byrne to check out the sitch. Guess what he finds?

GOSSIP and USELESS FACTS:

• Stigmata is defined as "bodily marks or pains resembling the wounds of the crucified Christ". You can learn more about stigmata by reading religious texts or by watching the X-Files episode "Revelations".
• The presence of stigmata is often associated with a strong Christian faith that may turn psychological tendencies into physical symptoms; however, Arquette's character Frankie is far from a typical adherent.
• There's lots of really gory stuff; like a crown of thorns dripping blood from Frankie's head.

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