Review of the film ‘The Exorcism of God’ (2021)

Father Peter Williams works in a poor area of Hispanic America, helping people and running an orphanage. A demonic possession is going on and he decides to take on it alone, in spite of being warned against it. The exorcism goes through the usual steps, with the possessed woman tempting him, but when the demon Balban is expelled something inexplicable happens. Eighteen years later, the village is going through a plague that is killing children, and a demonic possession begins in a small prison for women – Balban has returned, and this time possesses the daughter of the first woman. The film is bilingual, with the dialogues between the main characters being in English, and the dialogues with the rest being in Spanish subtitled in English.

The script takes on all the usual exorcism topics and phrases, focusing on the conscience of Father Williams and his doubts, with a twist: Balban has a plan in store for him. Not a bad story from writer Fernández Calvete, but then the dialogues are blunt. As for the direction of Alejandro Hidalgo, it makes the story shocking, having the possessed persons behave as violent zombies, and showing statues of Christ and Virgin Mary possessed too. This is the biggest offence: an exorcism should be a battle of faith, not violence. The moment a violent death happens, it does no longer make sense to wield a cross instead of an axe. Good scenography anyway.

The cinematography tries to be artsy, with low lighting and a narrow depth of field – but it is overdone: there are shots where the cross in the priest’s hand is unfocused, and shots where the spectator cannot see a thing. The sound is great and an important part of the film. Good music from Elik Alvarez.

As for the the acting: The actresses in general deliver a good performance, especially the possessed ones. As for the actors, Joseph Marcell, Will Beinbrink and Juan Ignacio Aranda are fine, and Hector Kotsifakis is bad. Great voice work by Johanna Winkel and Christiam Rummel.

All in all, a weak exorcism film, except if you are looking for gruesomeness. 2 out of 5.

Title:	The Exorcism of God
Genre:	Horror
Year:	2021
Nationality:	Mexico, Venezuela, United States
Colour:	Colour
Director:	Alejandro Hidalgo
Writer:	Santiago Fernández Calvete, Alejandro Hidalgo
Cast:	María Gabriela de Faría, Joseph Marcell, Will Beinbrink, Raquel Rojas, Irán Castillo, Alfredo Herrera, Hector Kotsifakis, Johanna Winkel, Eloisa Maturen, Nuria Gil, Christian Rummel, Juan Ignacio Aranda, Maria Antonieta Hidalgo, Evelia Di Gennaro, Patricia Rojas, Marcela Girón, Jesse Celedon, Simona Chirinos, Uriel Bravo, Patricia Pacheco, Flora Sylvestre
Producer:	Antonio Abdo, Alejandro Hidalgo, Karim Kabche, Joel Seidl
Co-producer:	Gonzalo Gutierrez 'G.G.', María Florencia Lemoine, Joe Torres
Executive producer:	Adrián Geyer, Alvaro Gonzalez Kuhn, Adriana Ortega
Production designer:	Alfonso De Lope, Enrique Echeverría
Cinematographer:	Gerard Uzcategui
Film editor:	Dester Linares, Rodrigo Ríos
Casting:	Mario Amabile, Stephanie K. Ripstein
Costume Designer:	Atzin Hernández
Music:	Elik Alvarez, Yoncarlos Medina
Running time:	98 minutes
Language:	English, Spanish, Latin