The characters are weak and under-developed, featuring a “feisty” protagonist, a stock theater John Wayne knock-off who is a paramilitary scientist working for DARPA, a stereotyped Asian woman, and an assortment of two dimensional background characters including the “sage old priest”, the “hot nymph” and the “ever-faithful Sherpa”-type Kurd. Several mechanisms are introduced to explain how the possessions occur and how they might be prevented, but in the end these seem arbitrary if not random and have a little or nothing to do with larger plot details other than to create a way for the story to move forward. Seriously – nothing interesting, nothing new, nothing inspired here. In this case, as if to make the story even more tiring, the evil is a stereotyped demon that can take control of individuals much in the way of typical Judeo-Christian demonic possession. Discovery of an ancient, long-buried evil is one of the oldest genres of science fiction. The plot is formulaic, making every twist and turn predictable. Unfortunately, Ararat doesn’t offer much more. Formulaic, predictable, unengaging “thriller”ĭiscovery of an ancient artifact that could change human history is a potentially good premise.
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