9/18/2012
Simply put "The Devil Inside" could be described as "The Blair Witch Project" meets "The Exorcist". It's also quite similar to "The Last Exorcism" which I previously reviewed. "The Devil Inside" was in theaters at the beginning of the year and took in a pretty impressive $33 million its first weekend.
The movie opens with a 911 call and a woman saying she has killed three people. This is Maria Rossi and the main question about her and about possession cases in general is that is she really possessed? or just mentally ill? Maria is taken into custody and is eventually sent to a mental hospital in Rome. We then pick up the story of her daughter Isabella, played by Fernanda Andrade, who has teamed up a documentary film crew as she is about to visit her mother for the first time. Luckily Isabella and the whole cast for that matter are all attractive and easy to look at (since this is a "real" documentary and all). It's also a great coincidence that everybody in Italy speaks English and is easy to talk to (just sayin'). Isabella does visit the very real Exorcism School at the Vatican and meet up with a few young priests who help them along the way. Also, the idea of multiple possessions and of demonic transference is brought up and plays a part later on.
All minor annoyances aside this really is a pretty frightening movie. The acting is pretty incredible, starting with Maria (Suzan Crowley) who plays crazy and possessed like she is actually crazy and possessed. Rosa (contortionist Bonnie Morgan) has a short scene that is the stuff of nightmares but with a dash of humanity. Despite what she has been through in her life Isabella is pretty well adjusted and lives a normal life.
Isabella and the group perform a sort of unsanctioned exorcism on Maria at the mental hospital and things get pretty intense. Something happens that makes this exorcism movie unique. I won't spoil it but it makes for an interesting third act. Personally, I think the ending is pretty awesome, but a lot of people hate it. Since this is a found footage type movie you'd expect this type of ending. Its abrupt, ambiguous are leaves a lot of questions. What happened next? More than likely with the amount of money it took in a sequel can't be far behind. "The Devil Inside" is now available on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download so give it a shot.