Disc Reviews

Exorcism Review

• 16th Feb 2015

The latest ‘found footage’ sub-genre horror film (this time from the UK) is a demonic possession low budget horror. Near the start of the film, a film director travelling by car with some of other members of the cast and crew to a secluded location to make a horror film states that the reason he is making the film is to make something more loyal to The Exorcist (1973) after the number of “crap” films were made following the American game changing horror film. The style in which Exorcism was made differs little from any other found footage horror, opening with an outline of the cast and crew members through shaky hand held video footage. They are making their way to an isolated cottage to film in the ‘authentic’ location where a demonic possession had taken place in 1963. The irascible film director proceeds to yell at his amateur cast and crew and is at first disappointed from the performances coming from then. When the film’s lead is tied to the bed a la Linda Blair in The Exorcist she starts to pull a performance to the director’s satisfaction when her performance becomes all too real. Soon this gives way to the cast and crew killing themselves and becoming possessed, most demonically in the lead girl and the priest who proceed to attack and hack everyone else.

The first 2/3 of the film is pretty awful with poor performances throughout. It is only when the priest and the girl start attacking and stalking that this cheap horror film comes into its own with a few genuinely scary moments and jumps. Yet overall it is a very cheap film, the premise being appallingly unoriginal and unconvincing up to the point until near the end. Lean at 73 minutes after a slow start it does pick up pace but as the DVD disc says on its cover “some things are better left alone”. Never a true word. There are no extras on the disc.

Chris Hick