Wise Blood (1979)

This adaptation of Flannery O'Connor's first novel, directed by John Huston, had me mostly uninterested.  Brad Dourif is a decent choice to play the disagreeable Hazel Motes, the ex-soldier who is mistaken as a preacher because of the getup he buys, who then goes on a baffling pursuit to preach his own "Church Without Christ" message, but he's kind of one-dimensional too.  Satirical and dark in tone, the screenwriters try to engage the funny-bone but for me at least they failed.   It's also not much of a commercial for the novel, for it made me want to avoid the novel like its poison.  Mostly it's a very uncinematic story that relies heavily on dialogue and kooky unlikeable characters.  I'd only recommend renting this if you're a huge O'Connor fan or you need to see everything that John Huson directed.  Grade: C+.