Quite the opposite – it is a psychological thriller that quietly, inevitably gets under our skin. It is thought-provoking and complex, and examines western religious practices within a modern psychological context. There’s a lot to chew on.
Lifelong Louisiana preacher Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) has officiated at exorcisms since he was ten years old. He’s no longer a believer but he continues to preach and perform exorcisms and when he reads a report of a child being suffocated during a cleansing, he feels its God’s will that he set things straight. It’s a way to make up for his shameful hypocrisy.
He decides to answer an exorcism request and prove that the practice is a scam by filming it. He’ll use “tricks” to make water seem to boil, crucifixes smoke and beds shake. He will unmask the practice as a cruel scam against the vulnerable.
Marcus randomly selects a letter from a backwoods farmer begging him to drive the demons out of his home. His livestock is being slaughtered by unknown forces and his daughter Nell (Ashley Bell) is beset by nightmares and suspected of hurting the animals.
Marcus and his documentary crew come to the Sweetzer family farmstead in a remote area outside New Orleans. Louis Sweetzer (Louis Herthum) is genuinely concerned for his daughter’s welfare and frightened that he can’t control her outbursts. He chains her to the bed and forbids intrusions, refuses to allow her to go out into the world and drinks heavily. His son Caleb (Caleb Jones) does his best to drive the filmmakers away for reasons that are unclear.
Eventually Marcus wins their trust and begins his work. His tricks impress the Sweetzers but he soon finds something is afoot well beyond the scope of his playacting.
Bell does great work as the bedeviled girl; her innocent beauty and mild manner strengthen the horror of her situation. Fabian has an amazing natural ability and presence; he expresses his character’s journey weightlessly and seems both believably sincere and insincere when necessary.
All the performances are especially good in this ensemble, even the cameraman who we never see and rarely hear – we learn about him through his use of the camera, the rules he breaks his fears, strengths, and fascinations.
This is no low budget student effort – this is a fully realized psychological study that happens to be scary, and fulfills its aim to be solid, thought provoking entertainment.
Written by Huck Botko, Andrew Gurland
Directed by Daniel Stamm
Runtime: 87 minutes
Cast: Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, Louis Herthum, Caleb Landry Jones, Tony Bentley
Cinematography: Zoltan Honti
Original Music By: Nathan Barr