| “ | Wherever you go, I can see you. | „ |
| ~ Mother Grace. |
Mother Grace (real name: Grace Spivey) is the charismatic leader of a fanatically religious Christian cult known as the Church of the Twilight (also known as the Servants of Twilight) who are determined to murder Joey Scavello whom she believed to be the Antichrist and she is the main antagonist of the Dean Koontz novel The Servants of Twilight (originally called Twilight) and its 1991 film adaptation Servants of Twilight.
She was portrayed by Grace Zabriskie whose first name is the same as the fictional character's.
The Servants of Twilight (novel)[]
The Church of the Twilight aka the Servants of the Twilight.
A single mother named Christine Scavello and her young son Joey are confronted in a mall parking lot by a madwoman who claims that Joey is the Antichrist. After a distressing attack on the family home results in her dog being decapitated, Christine enlists the help of private detective Charlie Harrison. Harrison traces a van that is following Christine back to one Grace Spivey—a charismatic elderly woman who is the leader of a fanatical religious cult called the Servants of Twilight.
Christine is provided with bodyguards for her protection; however, it is not long before one of them is killed in an attack by cult members. Christine, Charlie, Joey, and the new dog Chewbacca begin a tiresome cross country journey to escape the deluded members of "The Twilight". It seems that no matter how far they travel or where they go, Spivey's people find them. It is revealed that this is due to Spivey being a psychic who can see into the future, a gift that also plagues her with many sleepless nights.
After several more attacks (including a car bomb and an arson attack) the group tries to escape the growing threat of the Servants of the Twilight by retreating to Charlie's lodge in the mountains. Here, Charlie finds himself falling love in with Christine, and the two end up sleeping together.
Spivey is certain that Joey is the Antichrist, and continually has visions of the apocalypse where the child is the cause. Rather than considering herself insane or unjust, Spivey sees her need to kill the boy (as well as anyone that may get in her way) as a service to mankind. Her faith is so strong that she is able to enlist the following of many key members of the community, including police officers and a man named Kyle Barlow - a sociopath Spivey had saved from a life of crime.
The Servants of Twilight eventually track the group to Charlie's mountain lodge. After a chase and more gun fights with heavily armed cult members in a treacherous blizzard, the family finds themselves in a cave in the side of a mountain. They are exhausted, Charlie has suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder and Joey develops a serious illness, including hives to the face and a very pale complexion, both caused by exposure to the extreme cold.
Kyle Barlow knows he must finish the job, but finds he does not have the ability to kill a child, even if Grace believed him to be the Antichrist.
The story reaches it climax inside the cave when Spivey and her last standing helper, Kyle Barlow, begin their descent to kill the child and stop the supposed rise of the Antichrist. Christine has no energy left to fight, and Charlie is barely conscious from his gunshot wound. It all looks very bleak as Grace Spivey raises a gun to Joey's head. Just before she pulls the trigger, however, Spivey is attacked by a barrage of bats who attack her and leave her for dead. The strange behavior of the bats causes Christine to wonder if her son could have caused the attack.
The book closes with the end of the ordeal and with Christine and Charlie in a stable relationship. Charlie’s curiosity about Joey grows, as the boy's illness cleared up very quickly and mysteriously. The story ends with Charlie trying to find evidence in the buried remains of the family's original dog. The grave does not hold the remains of Christine's dog but a dog of a different breed, which Charlie finds humorous and concludes that Joey could not be the Antichrist.
Servants of Twilight (film)[]
Grace Spivey aka Mother Grace.
Christine Scavello and her young son Joey are confronted in a mall parking lot by a madwoman who claims that Joey is the son of Satan. After a distressing attack on the family home results in her dog being decapitated, Christine then enlists the help of private detective Charlie Harrison. Harrison traces a van that is following Christine, belonged to a company called the True Word which is founded and owned by a religious Christian sect called the Church of the Twilight and he discovered that the same madwoman who threaten Joey Scavello is the group's beloved leader Mother Grace, also known as Grace Spivey—a charismatic elderly faith healer who believed that she saw signs of the coming Judgment Day with Joey as the Antichrist at the heart of it all.
Christine is provided with bodyguards for her protection; however, it is not long before one of them is killed in an attack by cult members. Christine, Charlie, Joey, and the new dog Chewbacca begin a tiresome cross country journey to escape the deluded members of "The Twilight". It seems that no matter how far they travel or where they go, Spivey's people find them. It is revealed that this is due to Spivey being a psychic who can see into the future, a gift that also plagues her with many restless nights.
Charlie's friend, a doctor, interviewed Vera Lancaster, a former member of the Church of the Twilight who defected from Mother Grace's influence because of her seeing Joey Scavello as the Antichrist.
After several more attacks (including a car bomb and an arson attack) the group tries to escape the growing threat of the cult by retreating to Charlie's lodge in the mountains. Here, Charlie finds himself falling love in with Christine, and the two end up sleeping together.
The Church of Twilight, home to the Servants of Twilight and their leader Mother Grace.
Spivey is certain that Joey is the Antichrist, and continually has visions of the apocalypse where the child is the cause. Rather than considering herself insane or unjust, Spivey sees her need to kill the boy (as well as anyone that may get in her way) as a service to mankind. Her faith is so strong that she is able to enlist the following of many key members of the community, including police officers and a man named Kyle Barlow - a sociopath Spivey had saved from a life of crime.
The Church of the Twilight eventually track the group to Charlie's mountain lodge. After a chase and more gun fights with heavily armed cult members in the dead of the night, the family finds themselves in the cabin. They are exhausted.
Kyle Barlow knows he must finish the job, but finds he does not have the ability to kill a child, even if Grace believed him to be the Antichrist.
The story reaches it climax inside the cave when Spivey and her last standing helper, Kyle Barlow, begin their descent to kill the child and stop the supposed rise of the Antichrist. Christine has no energy left to fight, and Charlie is barely conscious from his gunshot wound. It all looks very bleak as Grace Spivey raises a gun to Joey's head. Just before she pulls the trigger, however, Mother Grace is attacked by a barrage of bats who attack her and leave her for dead. The strange behavior of the bats causes Christine to wonder if her son could have caused the attack.
The movie closes with the end of the ordeal and with Christine and Charlie in a stable relationship. Charlie's curiosity about Joey grows, as the boy's strange gift that brought his mother back to life. The story ends with Charlie in a mental hospital long after he was trying to find evidence in the buried remains of the family's original dog. The grave does not hold the remains of Christine's dog but a dog of a different breed, which Charlie finds humorous and concludes that Joey could not be the Antichrist. Then Joey appeared to Charlie in the middle of the night, asking him to be his new father again but Charlie still refused. Then he kills him with his secret telekinetic power that choked Charlie's neck and both Joey and his dog Brandy walk down the hallway and disappeared together.
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