Image from 2012 film The Devil Inside
Every once in a while a movie comes out that is immediately met with ridicule and negative criticism then I come along years later and watch it and enjoy it. One such film is The Devil Inside, a mockumentary style horror film that has its problems but also has merit.
The premise involves a young woman who visits her mother in Italy who resides in a mental hospital after murdering three people during an exorcism that was being performed on her. So the daughter enlists the help of two renegade exorcists who take her on a ride-along of sorts into the world of exorcisms.
The film has its cliches as well as a rather hasty and unfulfilling ending but it is far from being a bad film. This movie is downright unsettling and often had me freaked out. The depiction of exorcisms, while a bit unrealistic, were very intense and disturbing. I've always been fascinated with exorcisms but few films or TV shows on the subject have been able to effectively scare me like this film did.
The film is directed by William Brent Bell who also directed a fun little horror flick called Stay Alive which I really enjoy to this day and I fail to see why the film was slammed the way it was by critics other than the garbage ending. The only other negative I take from this film is that it is shot in the mockumentary style and I honestly wished it was a documentary because the Vatican won't allow the filming of exorcisms and I desperately would like to see some actual footage.
I would also love to give shout out to the actress who played the possessed mother in this film because her performance was spectacular and terrifying.