Films about exorcism (a ritual designed to expel evil spirits) on movie screens are not so rare. A horror movie based on the novel by William Peter Blattie, a chilling blood, “Exorcist” is considered a classic.
The phenomenal picture. The director William Fridkin received his honored Oscar for the thriller The French Connection, and this work was nominated for 10 figurines (as a result - 2 awards: for the script and for the sound). Filmed in 1973, this tape is still in the top 250 best film productions. On the other hand, in many countries it is still banned from showing. Either because of the disgusting heroine, whose body was captured by Satan, performed by Linda Blair (how she giggles viciously and turns her head 360 degrees!), Or because of something else. After “The Exorcist”, a lot of cruel and godless was shot, so this is a completely innocent, not very scary thriller related to the list (and topping it) under the title “Films about Exorcism”. Thanks should be given not only to the screenwriter-novelist Blattie and the director, but also to the great Max von Syudov for playing the role of exorcist priest, as well as for the mother of the obsessed girl Ellen Burstin (although many consider her the best work Sarah from the Requiem for a Dream by Darren Aronofsky) .
Attempts are good and not very
With followers of this classic, things are a little worse. The sequel to the Fridkin movie turned out to be a failure. The contemporary painting “The Last Exile of the Devil” does not make any special impression. True, the thriller The Six Demons of Emily Rose received decent enough criticism. The plot is based on the trial of a priest. He drove the devil out of the girl, and she died as a result of ritual manipulations. It is this unusual plot that is interesting here: the trial in the lawfulness of the actions of the clergyman. His image, incidentally, was brilliantly embodied by the British Tom Wilkinson. Everything is available to this master: from the grotesque, as in the comedy "Male Strip", to the tough action movie (the role of the mafia boss Falcone in the movie "Batman. The Beginning").
Actors and effects
Another good attempt to revive films about exorcism is the film “Constantine. Lord of Darkness". The nervous broken-down John performed by Keanu Reeves was wonderful. As always, Rachel Weisz irresistibly played . I remember the small, almost episodic roles of Tilda Swinton and Shaya Labafa. And, of course, Peter Stormare was dazzlingly good in the "skin" of Lucifer . The opinion of the public about the "Spell" by James Wang turned out to be ambiguous. The Australian filmmaker has recently been very interested in the otherworldly and astral world and is making films about exorcism with might and main. 2013 just presented to the public his films “The Spell” and “Astral. Chapter 2 ". In many ways, the pictures of this director are “drawn out” by a good cast, including the talented Patrick Wilson. Well, Wang, of course, is a master at the part of unexpected episodes that make the audience startle, without which films about exorcism cannot do.
What is exorcism: the expulsion of certain entities that have mastered a person, or the exploitation of mental illnesses of people, it is impossible to unequivocally say, but that this is a fertile topic for cinema is clearly unambiguous.