Film: Exorcismus
Release date: 14th February 2011
Certificate: 18
Running time: 96 mins
Director: Manuel Carballo
Starring: Sophie Vavasseur, Doug Bradley, Stephen Billington, Tommy Bastow, Richard Felix
Genre: Horror
Studio: E1
Format: DVD
Country: Spain
This is an English-Language release.
Manuel Carballo makes his contribution to the possession-movie pool with his second feature film. Like his debut, El último justo, the aspiring horror director explores the darker side of religion via family skeletons, pushy parents and adolescent antics as Satan makes another date with humanity.
Emma (Sophie Vavasseur) is a typical British 15-year-old in most ways but one. Her middle-class parents insist on home-schooling their little girl when all she wants is to go to school like normal teenagers. As it turns out, ‘normal’ isn’t quite so easily achieved. As soon as one obstacle is removed, in the form of her parents relenting to her wishes, another, much bigger obstruction lies in her path - in the form of the devil.
When friends and family make allusions to bizarre episodes that Emma can’t remember, viewers are treated to snatched flashbacks to support their stories. It soon becomes clear that there’s another side to Emma: the seemingly conformist teen is apparently engaged in the obligatory youth counter-culture scene. Whilst she experiments with style, music and a social life, her interest in the subversive runs deeper than even her friends realise, and with the aid of Christopher (Stephen Billington), her priestly uncle, she learns more than just how to apply smudgy black eyeliner. This is when the trouble starts. Thanks to Chris, she is equipped with knowledge more powerful than either of them anticipated; lying dormant, this ammunition is ignited in the wake of her overbearing mother. The standard possession process ensues.
Mercifully, the task of convincing Lucy (Jo-Anne Stockham) and John (Richard Felix) of the truth behind their daughter’s strops is short-lived and viewers are spared the usual 90 minutes of desperate endeavours of persuasion. Overlooking their evident distrust of Chris and his shady history with teen girls, despair drives them to accept his aid. He and his niece embark on exorcisms, the details of which are to be kept from her parents. But Lucifer’s temper tantrums aren’t all that well-meaning Chris is concealing…
True to the low-budget allure of possession horror, the mind is where terror lays, not gory special effects. Film fans either love or hate this subtle form of horror, and the lack of graphic blood and guts may reassure some, whilst hardened horror fans, who should be wise enough to know what to expect, might be disappointed.
Similarly, Carballo’s cast of unknown Brit actors fit right in with budget and, to a degree, this is displayed in their performances. Lucy is pure bossy mother material, making her an utterly flat and irritating character. John is hardly much better as the quietly-spoken counterpart who meekly reinforces his matriarch’s commands. Perhaps Stockham and Felix ought to be cut some slack, however, since it must be admitted that their script doesn’t leave much room for artistic licence. Vavasseur’s portrayal of a British teenager is convincing enough to carry the viewer along with her plight, but some might argue that she is simply playing herself. To an extent, this is unavoidable: how else can a teenager play a teenager? Nevertheless, her performance is much stronger than her filmic parents’ and, since the weight of the film rests on her shoulders, she has a big job.
Emma, as a character, is more than a two-tiered Victoria sponge sandwiched together with a jam of evil. She is an angsty teenager, and not all of her defiance can be blamed on that age-old excuse of possession. Simultaneously, though, Emma is ultimately a victim of circumstance, and this makes her a sympathetic character. The devil’s reign reaches much further than the odd attempted murder, and his presence indirectly triggers the destruction of a person’s entire world, which she is absolutely defenceless against. Whether Vavasseur manages to get this sense of ambiguity across to the viewer with as much force as she could have is debatable, but she gives it a respectable try.
Any possession-movie is bound to resemble its peers where plot is concerned. How many ways can an unsuspecting host fall prey to evil forces? Exorcismus therefore makes easy viewing for all; its accessibility naturally working in its favour and broadening audience appeal. Towards the end, however, Carballo seems to make a rushed effort to challenge viewers, which does little more than disturb the steady narrative. To the enquiring mind, hints and implications are indicated then quickly and pointlessly dismissed anyway, making climactic tension inconveniently turbulent. A conclusion consistent with the rest of the straight-forward story would have been more satisfying.
Carballo can hardly be blamed for his attempt at a twisty ending, given the expanse of his chosen genre. After all, is another addition really necessary? Exorcismus may be best appreciated as a continuation of the trend set by the likes of Carrie and The Exorcist, rather than an original modernisation. Psychoanalytical statements about metaphors and entering womanhood were all discussed by Laura Mulvey and friends decades ago, and Emma’s story is just another expression of their timeless sentiments. Carballo, though, shouldn’t be condemned for rehashing a tried and tested formula; he should be commended for creating such a strong example of a successful genre.
Carballo was clearly not aiming at originality with Exorcismus, so anyone seeking a fresh horror film will go away disappointed. But what Carballo does achieve, despite his uninspiring script and uninspired cast, is a shining example of the teen-girl possession film. Mild and modest, this is an inoffensive horror to suit the masses. RS
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