In this regressive tale of demons and damsels, a priest must admit his sins before he can vanquish a malevolent spirit.
“The Exorcism of God” opens with the possession of Magali (Irán Castillo), a nun at an orphanage in Mexico whose nipples get at least as much on-screen attention as her face. As soon as Magali and Father Peter Williams (Will Beinbrink), the priest performing her exorcism, are left alone, he rapes her. Such is the nature of this soulless film, directed by Alejandro Hidalgo and written by Hidalgo and Santiago Fernández Calvete.
Eighteen years after that exorcism, Peter, still a clergyman, lives in a village where the residents believe he is a saint. When children start dying from what appears to be an incurable illness, he worries it is “a punishment from the Lord.” Indeed it’s a demon — the same one who possessed Magali has reappeared at a nearby women’s prison. Peter calls upon his colleague, Father Michael Lewis (Joseph Marcell) to help him defeat it once and for all.
There’s just one hiccup: Peter, who dodged excommunication by never telling his bishop about the whole raping-a-sister thing, can’t vanquish the spirit unless he comes clean. A smarter film might take this opportunity to dissect its corrupt leading man. “The Exorcism of God” does not. Instead it makes Peter an antihero — mainly by throwing a lot of imperiled women and children into his path to save.
At one point, Michael explains the concept of an “auteur exorcism” to Peter, insisting that in order to really outsmart a demon, one must not believe in God — he must believe he is God. It feels like a subconscious confession from Hidalgo, who must think quite highly of his own directorial chops to create such misogynistic nonsense in the first place.
The Exorcism of God
Rated R for rape, carnage and carnal women. Running time: 1 hour 38 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on Google Play, Vudu and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators.
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
