Movies about demonic possession have been around for a very long time, some are terrifying, some are horrible. I saw the trailer for The Devil Inside when I went to see Paranormal Activity 3 and the whole audience was screaming, I have to admit that it gave me the chills too. Even though it looked a little silly, there were some genuinely creepy moments. So I saw this yesterday and despite all the bad reviews I was really curious to see what this movie was about and to give it a fair chance and may I say that the bad reviews are very justified. Not to say that this is the worst film I have ever seen, but I am getting sick of the "lost footage" genre, we know it's all fake so why bother trying to make us believe that it's real? Though the one thing I really give the film credit for is that it tried something different by making it into a documentary type of movie, which was really cool and I loved that it looked at both the scientific and religious side of demonic possession, giving the viewer a reason to question what was real and what was possibly a mental illness. However the slow pace of the creeps and the scares leads into one of the worst endings in movie history.
Maria Rossi committed a triple murder during an exorcism performed on her. The Catholic Church became involved, and she has since been in a Catholic psychiatric hospital in Rome. Her daughter, Isabella, learned of the murders from her father, who died three days after telling her. Twenty years later, Isabella is in the process of filming a documentary about exorcisms, and to find out more about her mother, she visits a school in Rome that deals with exorcisms and enters a classroom where students, priests and scientists are having a discussion about whether or not a subject is possessed by a demon or just has a mental condition. She has dinner with a few students and ends up getting a little closer with two priests, Ben and David. They talk more about the differences between being possessed and mental illnesses, and inform Isabella that they can't explain the differences, it's something you "just know". On that note, Ben and David are operating outside of the Church and performing exorcisms to help patients. Isabllea then decides they are the perfect duo to help her mom, but they may have bitten more than they can chew when they accept.
If you make a film about demonic possession, offer something new that we haven't seen before. I'm not talking about just the contorted bodies and talking in tongues, but they offer something great with a demon that could jump from body to body just terrorizing every human but then after this great idea and making you want even more, they pull the rug out from under you. Also, when did the demons get such a potty mouth? Taking a page from The Exorcist? The film does copy off of previous possession films which makes it not as original. The characters are unbelievable and not sympathetic so you don't care about what happens to them. Why would a family put their possessed daughter in the creepy basement locked up? Why after a priest tries to drown a baby during a baptism he's able to just walk out of the church? And why in these lost footage films do people during critical times always grab a camera? There are some good little scares with the mother who the film is somewhat centered around with her possession, what a chilling performance. However with a horrible ending, the movie is just ruined. The audience comes wanting to be entertained, not feel like they just got slapped in the face as the director is counting their money laughing to the bank.
2/10
Maria Rossi committed a triple murder during an exorcism performed on her. The Catholic Church became involved, and she has since been in a Catholic psychiatric hospital in Rome. Her daughter, Isabella, learned of the murders from her father, who died three days after telling her. Twenty years later, Isabella is in the process of filming a documentary about exorcisms, and to find out more about her mother, she visits a school in Rome that deals with exorcisms and enters a classroom where students, priests and scientists are having a discussion about whether or not a subject is possessed by a demon or just has a mental condition. She has dinner with a few students and ends up getting a little closer with two priests, Ben and David. They talk more about the differences between being possessed and mental illnesses, and inform Isabella that they can't explain the differences, it's something you "just know". On that note, Ben and David are operating outside of the Church and performing exorcisms to help patients. Isabllea then decides they are the perfect duo to help her mom, but they may have bitten more than they can chew when they accept.
If you make a film about demonic possession, offer something new that we haven't seen before. I'm not talking about just the contorted bodies and talking in tongues, but they offer something great with a demon that could jump from body to body just terrorizing every human but then after this great idea and making you want even more, they pull the rug out from under you. Also, when did the demons get such a potty mouth? Taking a page from The Exorcist? The film does copy off of previous possession films which makes it not as original. The characters are unbelievable and not sympathetic so you don't care about what happens to them. Why would a family put their possessed daughter in the creepy basement locked up? Why after a priest tries to drown a baby during a baptism he's able to just walk out of the church? And why in these lost footage films do people during critical times always grab a camera? There are some good little scares with the mother who the film is somewhat centered around with her possession, what a chilling performance. However with a horrible ending, the movie is just ruined. The audience comes wanting to be entertained, not feel like they just got slapped in the face as the director is counting their money laughing to the bank.
2/10