A Tale of Two Exorcisms

Concerning The Last Exorcism and Exorcismus

I watched quite a few scary movies in honor of Halloween and for Peril on the Screen including two about exorcisms. There were some overlapping features, but they diverge enough that I thought it might be interesting to review them together here.

(Sorry there are spoilers)

Both movies are about young girls possessed by a demon of some sort. In each, the exorcism is recorded. I found that for the most part the characters' behaviors were realistic and they responded in believable ways (there are a couple of exceptions, but we can ignore them for now). The acting wasn't spectacular, but I would say that in both films the main characters-- the priests and the girls-- did a good job portraying the drama and terror of the ritual. These two movies are full of the “standard” tropes of such movies; body contortions, speaking in tongues/different voices, writing in blood, etc. I really wonder if there can be anything original about future exorcism films.

Despite these similarities, the two movies diverge in significant ways. The first The Last Exorcism is filmed as a documentary (mockumentary). I actually don't mind this usually, I'm not bothered by the “shaky camera." The premise is that an extravagant preacher (for once not a Catholic priest) from Baton Rouge, LA has been faking exorcisms for the past few years; he hashad a serious crisis of faith and has a rather contemptuous attitude towards his congregation at the beginning of the movie. He has decided to do one final exorcism, but will document the entire experience from deciding which case to take, during the investigation, and to the end. His purpose is to expose exorcisms as being not only fake, but, in fact, harmful to those undergoing such rituals. The girl he decides to visit lives in rural Louisiana.

Exorcismus is a Spanish movie (in English) filmed in the standard style, rather than as a documentary though there are scenes from the recorded exorcism. Here we have a Catholic priest who has been involved previously in a botched exorcism and, while not entirely removed from the Church, is in disgrace. He is presented as deeply religious. The possessed girl is his niece and they all live in an urban neighborhood (possibly in England, but I'm not sure).

The differences in the religious figures (priest/preacher) lead to differences in the ways that the exorcisms are cast. In The Last Exorcism, due to his lack of faith, the possession is portrayed as being purely social/psychological. The preacher arrives at the girl's house as a skeptic (well, disbeliever in fact) and interviews various people trying to piece together her life looking for secular reasons for her behavior. The priest in Exorcismus, on the other hand, firmly believes that his niece is possessed. Furthermore, there are incontrovertible signs that there is something supernatural going on with her that could not be explained away by a viewer such as her levitating off the ground. In the first movie, everything the girl does can (theoretically) be caused by something mundane rather than demonic.

In both films, there is a surprise development, a twist in the plot, revolving around the priest/preacher and the audience's perception of the possession. For the Louisiana preacher, it turns out that his client is in fact possessed by a demon. But in order to get to this point (after all the contrary evidence), the plot becomes totally derailed. The ending, which is over the top potentially to prove once and for all that the girl is possessed, is five minutes of some of the most ridiculous footage that I've seen in a movie. And here The Last Exorcism devolves into a series of stereotypes that seriously lowered my opinion of it. As I stated above, they are in rural Louisiana. Even from the beginning there are some cliches overplayed, but by the end what you have are incestuous, ignorant, backward superstitious country folk who just happen to be part of a Satanic cult. To top it off, the “manifestation” of the “demon” at the end just looks stupid, and I was definitely rolling my eyes during the final sequence.

The twist in Exorcismus, on the other hand, actually succeeds in making the movie better. The priest as we discover is not only a believer but actually an insane fanatic who is happy to destroy his entire family just so he can capture definitive evidence of demons on camera. Due to his disgrace from a previous exorcism, he hatches a plan to capture a demon in the act so that he can regain his position within the church and prove to people that he his behavior during the botched ritual was justifiable. He teaches his niece about demons and blood sacrifices and when she does become possessed he quickly jumps in to take over. As we find out though, his actions during the taped sessions do not quite match up; he has not been trying to cast out the demon because he wants it to get stronger – he wants to catch it in the act doing something undeniable such as levitating. There are some holes here. It is not a perfect set up, but overall this surprise addition to the plot works much better than the “surprises” in store for you in The Last Exorcism.

I give Excorcismus 3 ½ stars and I would have given The Last Excorcism the same score if the last 5 minutes of the movie didn't exist (yes, it is that bad). Instead, I give it maybe 2 stars.

RIP Review: The Night Circus

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

            Two dueling magicians chose two protégés to battle one another in a mysterious contest known only as “the challenge.”  As children Celia and Marco, each learn a different system of magic.  Their teachers care only about winning, but once the two are thrown together they fall in love.  The venue for their challenge is a traveling circus --Le Cirque des Rêves--full of colorful and eccentric characters, elaborate shows, and dangerous magic.  The contest set up by their masters ensnares everyone in the circus and leads to deadly consequences as the two contestants struggle to figure out the rules of the challenge and discover what they must do to win.

            The book is written from several points of view including the main characters and several secondary ones.  It is broken up into short chapters that are often not in chronological order.  Inserted between different sections of the book are second person narratives that describe the circus as if the reader is walking through experiencing the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes for herself.  

            Overall, this is one of my favorite books of the year.  The author provides amazing details of the circus from the taste and smells of carnival treats to the intricate workings of the troupe’s custom-made clock.  Colors play a prominent and symbolic role throughout the book.  Le Cirque des Rêves is mostly black and white – the tents, the exhibits, the costumes, etc.  But here and there splashes of red appear very much in a similar way that colors often intrude in dreams.  

            In fact, the whole book has a dream-like quality not limited to the circus (which is of course constructed to be a series of dreams), but also in the structure of the narrative itself.  At first, I was annoyed by how the chapters skipped back and forth in time, but I think this fits ultimately with how dreams often are not linear stories.  Rather, they are often fragments that need to be pieced back together in order to see the whole story.  And if we see dreams as stories (as our own personal stories) then the ending is nearly perfect as we learn that what we have just read is a story being told by one of the characters to Marco’s instructor.  

            There were a few nitpicky things that bothered me—the beginning was paced a bit slow for me, sometimes the author was bogged down in her own descriptions (such as saying a character was “elegant” 5 or 6 times in one tiny chapter)—but I do think the book lives up to all the hype.  4 1/2

R.I.P. Review: Drood

I must say that I did try very hard to like this book after so many recommendations, but I found it rather boring.  Drood is a fictional exploration of the last years of Charles Dickens' life as told by Wilkie Collins.  Dickens meet the mysterious stranger Drood in the aftermath of a terrible accident and basically becomes obsessed with him.

There is no denying that Simmons can write. He has a knack for sumptuous descriptions of people, places, and moods.  The chapter when Dickens and his hesitant sidekick Collins first explore London underground was exceptional and genuinely creepy.  If only more of the book had started off like this.  I also enjoyed the ambiguity of Wilkie's situation at first - is he experiencing hallucinations due to his drug addiction or are there supernatural events occurring around him?

What I really didn't like was the whole "society novel" aspect.  I just didn't really care to read about the London gossip, the dinner parties, etc.  I also didn't like Wilkie or Charles and couldn't see any point in slogging my way through nearly 800 pages in the hopes that maybe eventually things would get more interesting. 

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I read The Woman in Black by Susan Hill.  I prefer Shirley Jackson.  Hill's book wasn't creepy enough for me and I found it rather bland. (addendum: I just found out Daniel Radcliffe is staring in a movie version of this book and the trailer is 100 times scarier - The Woman in Black).

I am also reading The Passage, which is kind of hit or miss - some sections are super engrossing and others I feel like I should skim.  Also, the book didn't need to be that long.  Reminds me of the judges on Project Runway this season constantly telling Josh to edit. You don't need to throw every single idea into one creation.  Seriously.

Finally, about halfway through The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  Its super cool.

Peril on the Screen

Seconds Apart 2011

(I tried to keep this spoiler free, but it might be spoilerish).

Twins Jonah and Seth have telepathic powers, which they use to torment people.  This movie is a mixed bag.  It starts off with a gory round of Russian roulette that sets the scene, showing us exactly what the twins are capable of it.  The mass suicide also introduces us to the detective who is a central character in the film. (Unfortunately – but I’ll get to that later). 

What I liked: The twins are creepy.  The actors did a really good job of giving us detached psychopaths.  The twins’ parents are creepy.  The early scenes with them are some of the best in the entire movie.  Had the film makers concentrated on those two elements (the twins and their parents) this would have been a much better show.  Some of their abilities are pretty interesting like they can make people forget they were there, induce delusions, and control people’s actions.  They also are able to control reality in the sense that they make the victims see only what the twins want them to see. 

What I didn’t like: The detective ruined the movie for me.  His back-story provides a suitable tragedy so that he is the tormented yet driven hero.  Unfortunately, I think less effort was put into making his story/character and believable.  I honestly could have fast-forwarded through the parts with him, which is unfortunate because he is central to the entire plot of the story. 

What I hated: The end.  There was such potential when we start to learn about the twins’ childhood and how their powers developed and what really happened to their parents.  But by the time all of those elements came together the movie had pretty much fallen apart. 

But the twins are really creepy.  So I’ll give this one 3 stars.  

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I've encountered some really awful "horror" movies in my search for something to watch for this challenge.  I feel like its been a bad few years for the horror industry as a whole.  Or maybe I'm becoming more critical (or both).  

I'm currently reading Drood, but I have to say that I'm not all that into it.  I'm about 150 pages in.  I only kept reading because so many people enthusiastically commented about it.  I think I'll stick with the book a bit longer, but not sure if I'll finish it.  We shall see...

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VI

Yep, its that time again

I have recently been complaining about the demise of summer, about how August (and July and June) went by too fast, and how Halloween candy is out too early.  I think, however, I will stop whining now since it is time for the annual RIP challenge hosted by Carl at http://www.stainlesssteeldroppings.com/.

In past years (I think is my 3rd?), I have gone for Peril the First, which involves reading four books in the mystery/horror/thriller category.  Since I should be busy with arranging a year long trip abroad, I'm going to play it safe and go for the Peril the Second challenge which is reading two books in any of those categories.  (All is explained much more eloquently here).

In addition, there is Peril on the Screen and since I do enjoy a few scary movie marathons I will probably also post a brief review or two here for whatever I get around to watching.  Although, honestly, I'm not up-to-date on current horror films, so if anyone has suggestions for recent movies, I'm listening. 

There is also a new category for a group read if you are into that sort of thing. I tend to be very bad at them though the books they are reading do sound interesting.

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So you might be wondering what I am going to read.  Well, since I am still slogging my way through my 2011 LT Challenge, I thought I'd just pick two books off of there that I'd planned on reading anyway.

1) Drood by Dan Simmons
2) World War Z

Those are the two that immediately jumped out at me as being good fits for this challenge, but as everyone knows who has ever read any post on this blog about reading, I am very bad at sticking to these lists I make.  Therefore, you can expect almost anything really.  I tend to get sidetracked in libraries, attracted to new shiny books, or even old worn books so long as they aren't the books that I've said I was going to be reading.

If you are even remotely interested in books, or in Halloween, or in watching movies, I definitely think you should give this challenge a try.  I've always found it to be immense fun!