American Exorcism (2017)

Damon Richter thought he left the world of possessions, exorcisms, and evil behind until an old friend arrives with frightening information about his estranged daughter knowing that only his otherworldly skills can save her.

Director:

Tripp Weathers

Writer:

Tripp Weathers

Stars:

Michael Filipowich, William McKinney, Kate Tumanova

Cast

Credited cast:
Michael Filipowich	...	Damon
William McKinney	...	Padre
Kate Tumanova	...	Caroline
Braxton Davis	...	Will
John Paul Sales	...	Hooper
Jessica Morris	...	Janelle
Jennifer Lee Wiggins	...	Cy
Luke Wright	...	Deputy Doug
Jhana Parits	...	Tawny
Sicily Fontaine	...	Young Caroline
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Arun Kapoor	...	Rivera
Alexander Man	...	Buggar
Romane Simon	...	Roman
Brad Stocker	...	Dale

Storyline

After narrowly surviving a harrowing possession, Damon Richter was left with abnormal abilities that allow him to help those fellow souls similarly tormented. Damon has embraced these powers for good until a routine exorcism goes terribly wrong forcing his family to suffer greatly. Thinking he left the world of possessions, exorcisms, and evil behind him, he must now use these skills to save his estranged daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

exorcism | villain | evil man | demon rape | rape | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 May 2017 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

AZ Film Studios, Marquis Productions, Thriller Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

User Reviews

Enjoyable enough if somewhat flawed exorcism effort

Hoping to put his past behind him, a man trying to get away from the world of the supernatural learns that his previous skills involving possession and exorcisms are put to the test when his daughter is possessed and he must save her before the demonic entity fully controls her.

Overall, this here wasn't all that impressive of an effort. One of the better qualities of this one is the fact that there's a rather intriguing and enjoyable manner of getting the possession to the forefront. This one posits the idea of a person only being able to be fully susceptible to demonic possession only when they reach a certain age, and that is a somewhat enjoyable idea to add to the canon of these types of films which is nicely played out here. The concept of doing their services at the exact same point as the bonfire sequence is really enjoyable for the tactics displayed meshes nicely with the rituals used to start the official exorcism. That dual-pronged nature is employed well here as the early scenes of them together with the group together partying and moving on into the rather striking attacks in the woods against the different victims as the methods to stalk each one is quite creepy. The finale does come off rather nicely with the strong action of the actual exorcism taking place with all the figures coming together alongside the brawling taking place outside which is a really fun finish. While these here hold this one up, there are a few major problems that hold this back. The main problem with this one lies in the utterly incoherent and nonsensical storyline at the heart of this story. The need for a demon to wait until a victim has waited to be a specific age in order to fully possesses a person might be original but yet gives the film an unwittingly campy tone by never being given a reason for that special age to mean anything. This isn't helped at all by the serious tone it tries to utilize in order to convince this storyline makes sense here even though the major selling point and it just gives this a completely jarring tone than what's expected here. Likewise, the time-jumps make no sense as the first half-hour is completely unrelated to what comes in the later hour being before the necessary change which is what makes the film feel quite disjointed and off-kilter pacing that really drags this one down. The other big issue here is that this one can't seem to make up its mind what kind of demon is actually possessing everyone. The idea of the father also being possessed by something that occurred years earlier and is still affecting him much the same as what's possessing his daughter really makes for a confusing narrative about what's going on and tends to make this all the more unsure about what's going on. The laughable attempts to undergo the possession, from the ludicrous chanting and clacking noises to the utterly inane look of the priest that doesn't make him look in the slightest bit professional really makes it look cheaper than it really is, much like the atrocious CGI that is used for the demonic presences. These here are the film's main issues.

Rated Unrated/R: Extreme Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, Nudity, a sex scene and heavy underage drinking.