Recently in the mid-‘00s, the Possession Flick has returned but with a new “twist.” Taking the cue from Saw and The Ring, it was decided to return to its mother film The Exorcist and play on our psychological fears. Priests questioning their faith, troubled laypersons who do not believe and the ever-present conflict between modern science/medicine and the belief in the diabolical. In short, spiritual warfare was back in style and believing in God was the new black! But were cheap scares gone? Sometimes.
The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) brought the exorcism movie back to a more "respectable" place in Hollywood filmmaker’s eyes. But what does this mean? Do these new films have something else to say? Something we did not hear in 1973 and on? Is the psychological scare teaching us anything? I have begun to watch these films to see if my current opinion will change and also to note what is cliché and what is novel about each movie.
I have been working on a novel for years that this plot key of demonic possession features in and have been researching demonic possessions even longer. (Let us just say since I was twelve the idea of being taken over by an alien force-- no not the kind in spaceships-- has fascinated me to no end.)
What is my current opinion on this movie trend? Well, it isn’t a high one.
I personally think that these films are rehashing the same thing and that the plots have become so predictable that the revival of the sub-genre is as laughable as ever. At least with the Italian exploitation films, it did not take itself seriously or pretend to be anything it was not. These movies were a string of shock scares and dumb plots masquerading as psychological horror.
Recently I watched Requiem, a German film based on the sad life of Anneliese Michel, a young woman who died after a string of failed exorcisms. She died of dehydration and exhaustion, basically starved and untreated for her epilepsy and psychosis. This tragedy was also what supposedly inspired The Exorcism of Emily Rose, the 2005 Hollywood blockbuster. But after watching the serious drama of Requeim I thought I would follow it up by giving a Hollywood Possession Flick a look.
Enter Devil Inside….
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| PICTURED: And the letter of the beast ,shall be DDD. |
The story follows Isabella Rosetti as she seeks answers to a troubling past. Her mother Maria was arrested and institutionalized after she admitted to murdering three clergypersons during an exorcism.
And this opening scene would have been good if not for the acting. The camera crew acts like they are going through a pretty run-of-the-mill scene when there is enough corn syrup blood for an entire haunted house.
Isabella and her friend Michael are making a documentary as they search for answers. The search brings them to Italy where her mother is currently committed to a mental hospital. The supposed exorcism—which we can assume was... unsuccessful—happened when Isabella was only a child. She spent most of her life without her mother and now wants what all people in these movies want---answers. So she and Michael have a trip planned to the maximum security mental hospital in Italy where her mother is held. (Please keep in mind that this was an American family, meaning her mother's being taken to Italy for commitment is quite odd and purposeful. Though the characters never seem to address this).
But before that they take a detour to the “School of Exorcism” (No, really. They call it the School of Exorcism, which sounds like a great idea for a sitcom). Here they meet two priests. Of course. It takes two priests to do exorcisms in the Catholic rite, and we already know at this point that these two wahoos will be doing at least one in this movie. Ben and David, who later reveal that even when the Church turns down a case and refuses to do an exorcism, they sometimes perform them privately. Which is both illegal and, by the Church law, immoral. This is because many of the people the Church rejects are, in fact, possessed by demons. Or at least according to the Demon Busters, Ben and David. (For some reason, maybe because their IQ is so low, they allow Michael and Isabella to film them for their documentary even though what they are doing goes against the Church and the LAW. Good job, boys. Now you're on film committing a crime. Didn't think that through, did you?) Isabella visits her mother in the mental institute and discovers that the staff keep crucifixes up as “precaution” because her mother is repelled by them.
Let me digress for just a moment here. What? You have a woman who you believe is mentally ill and you use her illness' triggers to control her? How does this not fly in the face of your ethics? Also, you didn't use just two or three crusifixes. Oh, no. You have a bajillion of them up. Mother Theresa would have thought you were going over board. Subtly is an art form.
Surprise, surprise! Her mother is still possessed (by Hollywood standards) and makes it a point to be as ominous and creepy as all hell before screaming at Isabella.
I will admit this scene was not bad until Isabella and Michael's exchange right after. Any atmosphere created by Maria's mother was shattered by the awkwardly timed and stiff reactions from the other characters Michael even whispers "Oh, this is good stuff!"
The priests Ben and David offer to show Isabella and Michael a “real” possession. They even tell the duo the name of the demon they are dealing with. Which was something like Bozo or Bobo or anything along that line. In the basement of a family’s house, a young woman is contorted into a human pretzel. This was a neat little effect but there was really no reason for it. At least in Emily Rose it was built up to and reacted to appropriately. In many cases of reported demonic possession throughout history this actually is a recorded "symptom" when it is described that the body is in the "throes" of the demon and does otherwise impossible things. But she untwists so quickly in this film that it just comes off as the demon saying "Hey guys! Look what I can do!"
The priests tend to the possessed woman medically and spiritually, calling the demon out. The possessed woman proceeds to be, well, possessed. She levitates off the bed, breaks her bindings and crawls up the wall.
But not before she menstruates. Upon first viewing I was confused about what all the blood was about. Then I realized it was the filmmakers' latent fear of the female body and its icky, icky blood. Is that supposed to frighten us? She had her period. Am I supposed to be uncomfortable seeing period blood? You realize I have periods myself, right?
Needless to say, Michael and Isabella are now believers in demonic possession because a woman had her period. Hm, doesn't take much, does it? They ask David and Ben to re-analyze Isabella’s mother’s case. Ben has reservations because if the Church finds out he’s doing this very public exorcism, which they seem to have scrapped years ago, he could lose his job and even go to jail. Though, he should have thought about that before he allowed two Americans to film them for their little documentary. (Question: Why did the Chruch spend money transporting Isabella's mother to Italy after she offed three clergy and now does not want to exorcise her? Is she an international criminal for killing a nun and two priests? Is the mental hospital jail for Beezlebob? What's going on? Why isn't this addressed! It would be more interesting than watching these people argue over things that are already established!) But David seems more at peace with what he feels they must do. They analyze Maria and she comes out positive on the “possession” test, it seems. After this possession-test, at home, Ben shows signs of a possession; talking to himself, crying, sitting in the dark and, finally, shooting himself on-camera. He could have saved us a lot of useless dialogue if he did this earlier in the film. (Somehow Michael has managed not to drop the camera and continues to film that dizzying Blair Witch-style thing horror movies do these days.) Directly after Ben blows his Doubting Thomas brains out, Isabella has a seizure and shows signs of possession. They rush her to the hospital where she kills a nurse and seizes more. Michael realizes that his friend is possessed. (What clued you in on that, Michael?) They flee from the hospital with the possessed woman (because that is the logical thing to do, apparently). David keeps her from having a violent episode in the backseat of a car while Michael drives with the camera facing them. His pupils dilate to “preternatural” size and they crash. The End. (But you can read more about on a website. Which actually no longer exists. Weee!)
I am not quite sure where to start with this film. Whether to begin with what is trite about it or what I found potentially entertaining. You must bear in mind that I have seen many Possession Flicks so some of the clichés will hit me harder than they may a casual movie-goer. I also try not to be outright negative towards things that I do not personally like unless they seriously offend me. Meanwhile, the things that I found working in the film’s favor will probably be based on what I thought the film had to “offer” to the genre. Before going any further I will note that Rotten Tomatoes gives this thing a 7% rating. I would say that is pretty damn low and harsh. While this was certainly not a “good” film I did not find it painful to watch. It was laughable enough to sit thought. It had its intrigue and the set-up was fun. (Most would probably disagree with me there. At its core it is simply a rehash of the possession films and the “Spontaneous Possession” theme it attempts to utilize—the cases where demons “jump” from person to person—gives it little distinction in the subgenre. Not to mention, the shaky camera will probably physically irritate the watcher.
Saving the good for last, let us start with the negative. The clichés and mind-blowing plot holes. I’ll jump into plot holes first because I love when people tell me I “over think” horror, as if the genre cannot be serious and is not hard to do. Why do David and Ben allow themselves to be filmed doing these “under the table exorcisms” if they know it is against the practice of the Church? Not to mention, illegal. Especially since they bring medical tools into their exorcisms. Let me be honest. I like the ending. Abrupt endings and questions unanswered can be a part of horror. What I do not like is the fact that these guys take the obviously possessed Isabella out of a hospital where she just killed a nurse. Why? Were they planning on running away? Where the fuck to? It does not even seem like something someone would do in a state of panic.
Survival test. Possessed woman kills a nurse.
Do you:
A) Pray
B) Help restrain her
C) Run
D) Any or all of the above
E) Run away with her.
Isn’t that like running into a burning barn to rescue a dead chicken?
Much of the plot is flimsy. But the clichés are worse. It has almost become expected in these kinds of films that there be a Linda Blair or Emily Rose stand-in. In this case the poor girl in the basement of her house is a human pretzel, then hemorrhages blood from her vagina, levitates off the bed and seems to seize. All of this without us ever getting to know her. The same for Isabella’s mother Maria. That is typical of this sub-genre. Female characters are easily possessed vessels. The demon is not given a name and seems to have no motivation except to distress these meddling kids. Why are these people-hopping demons wasting their time carving the backwards cross on women’s lips and spree killing? That appears to be an age-old question and makes them pretty damn "lame" as far as demons go. Why not possess the Pope? Or a political leader? Why not do something truly diabolical?
Let us see a handy checklist of possession clichés.
- Pea Soap/Vomit- nope
- Body Contortion (+points if pretzel is possible)- double check
- Horror of the Female Body- check
- Victim is a Young Woman- two times, yes.
- Young Woman says Lewd things to Priest/Man- check
- Science vs. Religion- yes. There is a Cynical Man in the School of Exorcism who makes valid points but who is played up as an asshole.
- Demon “Jumps”- check
- Spider Walk- check
- Demonic Verbal Battery- check
- Raspy Demon Voice- not this time
- Mental Illness is Scary. Ahhh!- check
- Pointless Poltergeists- no
- Imitating Emily Rose- half a check.
Skipped Cliches: Three!
any original here? ...Not really.
But I do not think it as bad as Rotten Tomatoes would suggest. There were a few moments that I had not seen yet in other possession films. The ridiculous and fictitious School of Exorcism may have been a bit unbelievable but at least it is not a staple of the possession movie (yet). It also took a moment to say that the Catholic Church does not endorse this film and that made me laugh so hard that I actually enjoyed myself. "No, really? I thought this was a legit documentary!" The documentary angle is interesting and at some moments did in fact lend the film a feeling of real-world atmosphere. Though the shots, lighting and special effects would never appear on a truly gritty documentary of “found footage,” the moment where Michael follows Isabella out of the hospital stood out. Seeing her weep after meeting her mother felt strangely real. Until he spoke. The idea of two priests running these “under the table” exorcisms is not believable but entertaining. In the school of exorcism it is mentioned that a certain dilation of the eye is supernatural because it is not physically possible. The abrupt ending bothers many people and that I can understand. But as a fan and a writer of horror I appreciate the loose end and an unsettling feeling the film tried to convey.
Some of the themes mentioned and set up in this film are science versus religion. In the two priests we meet these supposed rivals coming together to help people afflicted by demons. That is refreshing to see priests using medicine in a horror film. It has become a cliché for the two to be at war. If filmmakers were to go back to the start of the sub-genre they would see that The Exorcist goes to great lengths to show that the particular case has exhausted medical science and psychiatry before it turns to a level-headed and skeptical priest for help. Devil Inside returns to this almost foreign notion now, that science and religion are not enemies, but tools to fight evil forces. But Devil Inside is also choppy, full of plot holes and laughable. It loses any chance at psychological horror. None of the characters, save for Isabella because we see her pain and moods, can truly make a connection with the audience.
It is one of the more interesting movies I have seen in the sub-genre lately. Which is sad, really. I will probably not watch it again and don't suggest it unless you like "So Bad It's Fun" movies.
For now that is all. Perhaps next time I will review The Rite with Anthony Hopkins.
AN: know of any other possession films you'd like to see reviewed? Let me know! Always up for suggestions in the comments, my twitter, Facebook or just my email (luzbriar@gmail.com)
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