Shudder Saturday: Exorcismus (2010)

Sophie Vavasseur plays Emma, a young woman who ends up worried as she starts to have increasingly dangerous and violent episodes that seem to suggest she is maybe becoming possessed by an evil spirit. Her parents (played by Richard Felix and Jo-Anne Stockham) are initially as sceptical as you would expect, but eventually decide that it's best to get help from a priest (Stephen Billington). Things get worse and worse, with real harm occurring to those around Emma.

Directed by Manuel Carballo, making what I believe is his first English language feature after some shorts, as well as TV work and one other film, in Spanish, Exorcismus is decidedly more impressive than it should be, thanks to the fact that it doesn't really try to make things more complicated than they need to be. Carballo directs well enough, and there are some moments of good tension as you see people fail to become aware of Emma about to potentially lash out at them, and he keeps himself within a comfort zone for anyone familiar with this subgenre.

Writer David Muñoz probably helped with that, obviously. The script has some cheesy moments, and certainly falls a bit flat during the many moments in between the actual possession drama, but it works well for laying everything out and simply aiming to entertain viewers. And it all builds nicely, with Emma initially suffering from fits, progressing to pushing her best friend away and having horrible visions, then moving towards the expected third act reveal of the full horror of the situation.

If the script and direction are surprisingly good, in the way that both manage to settle into the expected beats while somehow avoiding that feeling that it's all just rehashed from better movies (I think the very Britishness of the presentation helps to make it feel a bit fresher than it otherwise would), the acting is a bit more of a mixed bag. Not terrible, but not good enough to help elevate the material further.

Vavasseur isn't great when acting normally, unfortunately, but she does better when it's time to start the eye-rolling and growling. Felix and Stockham try hard, despite being the main characters who are given the weakest dialogue. Billington is earnest enough in his role, it's a decent performance from him, and there's a minute or two of screentime for Doug Bradley that treats him a lot better than so many other horror movies I could name. The other person worth mentioning is Isamaya Ffrench, a young actress who makes a strong impression in her feature film debut (and who has since gone on to develop a career as an interesting and talented makeup artist).

There are one or two plot turns that you may or may not enjoy, nothing that stops the whole film to emphasise how much they're veering from familiar territory though, and there are no moments I can single out as absolute highlights (well, there's one that surprised me, but I won't spoil anything here), but Exorcismus does what it sets out to do, and doesn't overstay its welcome with a runtime that clocks in at just under 100 minutes. I say it's worth a watch, even if it is unlikely to become a new firm favourite.

6/10

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