Mark Reviews Movies: THE EXORCISM OF GOD

The Exorcism of God, Saban Films

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Review by Mark Dujsik | March 10, 2022

There's very little new in The Exorcism of God, even when the subversive event of the title finally arrives. With a few exceptions, movies about demonic possession haven't been novel—or particularly worthwhile—in some time, though, so even that isn't unique about co-writer/director Alejandro Hidalgo's effort.

This one at least hints at something intriguing. It's not in the opening scene, which has Father Peter (Will Beinbrink) going against orders from the Vatican and the advice of London-based Father Michael (Joseph Marcell) to rush the exorcism of a woman in Mexico. She's Magali (Irán Castillo), to whom Peter is obviously attracted and who, under the influence of a notoriously cunning demon, attempts to seduce the priest. The temptation is enough to allow the demon to enter Peter, and the resulting mix of over-the-top theatrics and sexual assault certainly doesn't engender much confidence.

Eighteen years later, Peter still works at the orphanage in that small town, where a mysterious illness is killing local children. For all of the good work he has done, the priest suspects the disease is a punishment for his unwillingness to complete his penance for the sin he committed while possessed by the demon: to confess to the bishop (played by Juan Ignacio Aranda) in charge of his role at the orphanage.

Here, at least, is something on which to latch within Hidalgo and Santiago Fernández Calvete's screenplay: a character filled with guilt and pride, so sure of himself and his inherent goodness that he's willing to allow the disease to continue, instead of sacrificing his position, his work, and his reputation as a living saint. The stuff with possession and foul-mouthed demons means little if there isn't a human element to the tale. In this case, the potential for real, albeit unintentional, evil exists in within our protagonist, whose good intentions are increasingly undone by his vanity and ambition.

Unfortunately, the filmmakers don't know what to do with a setup that promising and a character that potentially complex (It doesn't help that Beinbrink is bland in the role). Instead, Peter is haunted by visions and nightmares of a twisted Jesus, as he wanders the church at night, is occasionally startled by sounds in the darkness, and is petrified by things jumping out at him. Kids continue getting sick and dying. The priest has to deal with the fact that he recorded his exorcism attempt and, hence, his demonically influenced crime, and yes, that basically means the demon has been blackmailing him into silence for almost two decades.

There are more nightmares, as well as that old and tired cliché of nightmares within nightmares, and we soon learn that Esperanza (María Gabriela de Faría), a murderer incarcerated at the local prison, is possessed. She asks for Peter.

The demon, obviously, is the same one from before, and the woman, as it turns out, is Magali's 18-year-old daughter. Peter is the father.

Considering how shallow and overblown the setup becomes, it's little surprise how quickly this material turns to melodrama and routine. Some flashbacks reveal how Peter and Magali, then a nun, worked together at the orphanage together, and soon enough, more and more people are being terrified by twisted visions of holy figures (The pattern from the earlier nightmares remains—and remains predictably ineffective).

Michael arrives to help Peter, and Marcell's prim, proper, and blunt manner adds a bit of intentional humor to the self-serious proceedings. The priests have to navigate the maze of the prison, looking for Esperanza, while evading and fighting other inmates who have become possessed (There's a funny moment—accidental, obviously, because there's so little self-awareness here—in which a metal cross is melted by the demonic force, inspiring the priest to pull out a bigger one). It's more of the same, yet again, except a lot louder, a lot busier, and bathed in so much darkness that the game is rendered mostly incomprehensible.

The scenario promised by the title doesn't arrive until the very climax of this story, and like the protagonist's character and dilemma, the intrinsic potential of something so grim and somewhat unique—not to mention strange—is wholly undermined by the filmmakers' inability to recognize it. The Exorcism of God finally offers something assuredly different and undeniably weird, and in the end, that sequence amounts to nothing more than a lengthy, repetitive shouting match. It's neither a surprise nor a disappointment—just a continuation of the movie's meager goals for itself.

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