Prey for the Devil: Who Knew There Was a Glass Ceiling for Women Exorcists?
By Thom Ernst
Rating: B-minus
Don't be fooled by its PG rating. Prey for the Devil is a scary movie.
Yes, Prey for the Devil is far less horrific than its R-rated competition. And there are moments so self-aware as to be prosaic. But for a few gender twists and (to the point of ridiculous) copious jump scares, Prey for the Devil doesn't stray far from the familiar.
In this film by director Daniel Stamm (The Last Exorcism), the Devil is in the details, not the body count.
Still, this is an exorcism film, of which there are plenty. What could be added to the genre that isn't already drowned in holy water? Truthfully, not much. Casting out demons still requires a basic knowledge of Bible-quotes and a Costco-size supply of consecrated H2O.
The intent isn't to reinvent that genre, but to tilt expectations. Some won't want their expectations tilted, and others won't think Prey for the Devil tilts expectations enough. Both experiences are authentic, although neither is entirely accurate.
Are exorcism movies not ostensibly about the exorcist? Yet when thinking of The Exorcist (1973), whose name arrives first? Linda Blair or Max von Sydow? Answers will vary, but I wager Blair's Regan—and not the sweet little Regan, but the demon-possessed, scarred-faced, head-twisting, potty-mouthed Regan—comes before Sydow's iconic chant, "The power of Christ compels you."
Expectations (mine at least) are that some goodly person will be possessed by a demon. There is to be a priest, preferably conflicted and experiencing a spiritual crisis. But the real star is the Devil cloaked in an innocent's shell.
Prey for the Devil is about the exorcist, but not at the expense of the exorcism. Well, not entirely. Shifting the conflict away from the possessed towards what might motivate someone to become an exorcist is a bit distracting.
The tilt bends further when the wannabe exorcist is a woman. How you respond to her ambitions depends on how much of the film's truth you buy into.
Sister Ann (Jacqueline Byers)’s conflict is to break through the glass ceiling that prevents women from becoming exorcists. Her arrival at the all-male lecture hall is met with snickers, suspicion, and contemptuous glares. The scene is practically a recreation of Jennie Trout's (Canada's first woman doctor) Heritage Moment video. Who knew that patriarchy still flourishes in the Roman Catholic church?
Sister Ann is young with a traumatic past (one box checked). She is outspoken and therefore admired by the solemn yet commanding Father Quinn (Colin Salmon).
Her placement is at the St. Michael, the Archangel School of Exorcism, a school whose agenda is in its very name, literally carved in stone. What's more, St. Michael the Archangel School of Exorcism harbours extreme cases of possession, which the students duly study. And so, we are to believe that pursuing a career in Exorcism is a legitimate goal.
Horror movies with a similar religious bent require the audience to willfully buy into a certain amount of implied truths. Most of them are theological. For some, the Devil isn't as easy to dismiss as Michael Myers.
And the gravitas of the situation is amplified in the all-too-severe dialogue. While we might long for evidence that a secret society is defending us against evil, the St. Michael the Archangel School of Exorcism presented in this film does not exist. I know because I looked it up. There is no such school. And, yes, that realization is horribly disappointing.
But the film grapples with the all too real horror of abuse. The film's most frightening moments are Sister Ann's memories of an unpredictably violent (and loving) mother. Debora Zhecheva plays the Young Ann. Seen in flashbacks, Zhecheva conveys quiet vulnerability, loneliness, and fear. The combination of Zhecheva's performance with Stamm's direction makes these scenes terrifying in just how complicit and normalized abuse can be.
Putting children in peril is a shortcut to making audiences uncomfortable.
It can be a cheat. That cheat doubles Young Ann's abuse and the possessed Natalie (Posy Taylor). In Stamm's movie, demons don't waste time with the interlopers preferring to torment their young possessed host.
Sister Ann has an affinity for the young Natalie and, by the very nature of her femininity (which doesn't quite read as progressive as the film wants it to be), can reach the girl in ways men are incapable of. Even the sensitive men.
But not for nothing, Stamm digs into a soap-opera catalog of nuns, priests, theologians, and therapists who would look more comfortable on a hospital drama set. But appearances play a part, given that beauty is never so pure as when confronting the beast.
Then again, a commitment to celibacy is no reason not to look your best.
There is plenty wrong with Prey for the Devil, but despite cringy moments of profound seriousness around a rather silly conceit, I was on board. It’s been decades since an exorcism film left me feeling unsettled. Prey for the Devil’s tactics might be cheap, but they worked on me.
Prey for the Devil is directed by Daniel Stamm and stars Jacqueline Byers, Colin Salmon, Debora Zhecheva and Posy Taylor. Prey for the Devil is currently in selected theatres.