The Rite (2011) with Anthony Hopkins, Directed by Mikael Håfström

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You will either find it "OK" for one of two reasons or hate it.

Those who hate it would be those who can't stomach scenes of demonic possession to begin with or those believers who abhor any attempt to portray exorcisms in a semi-secular, semi-fictional film like this that many people will simply watch for thrills and entertainment and not really take as a message to become a believer.

If you are not in the group above, you will find the film interesting whether you believe in demons and exorcisms or are basically skeptical.

First, those who believe in the God vs. Satan conflict and demonic possession will probably approve of the approach of this film to allegedly base it on a true events that happened to a practicing Catholic exorcist Father Gary Thomas. However, apparently Father Gary Thomas feels that "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" (2005) is more accurate. I haven't seen that one, so I assume what Anthony Hopkins does in this film is basically what happens in actual exorcisms. Taken seriously, the message of the film is that the Devil is real, and those who do not believe in the Bible and pray to Jesus are in danger of being possessed. I can see this fairly serious message working for many people who are already believers and want to affirm what they believe or try to convince others.

Another group who will find the film interesting in a different way are those who basically don't believe or are not sure what to make of all this (like myself) but are fascinated by the concept and the idea that rites and rituals to cast out "demons" may go down like this. The film succeeds in terms of being real enough (no spinning heads or pea soup, for example, like The Exorcist) like making you wonder about many things. Does this really happen? How does this all work? What happens in non-Christian cultures and how does that relate to what happens in the Christian ones?

So...my main burning question ends up being that, if all this does really happen (very frequently, all over the world, ostensibly), why wouldn't the Vatican or other church groups show it publicly a bit more often on an official basis to people to stoke more fear of the devil? As the doubting, skeptical priest in training Michael, realizes in the end, the devil and demons are the strongest evidence of God, especially if those demons confirm they are scared of God/Jesus/Holy Water etc. and can be successfully fought with faith, prayer, symbols and rituals. From my high school days, for example, when I was attending a evangelical Christian organization for missionary kids in Japan, the only spiritual talk that got me close to really overcoming my skeptical stance was the stories of a guest speaker of a pastor called Greg Speck who told us in length how he cast a demon out of a girl he met in a summer Bible camp. Freaky stuff, just like this movie. If the churches have evidence on video, or can stand up to skeptical inquiry on this, it seems logical to release it a bit more, no? Why withhold it?

In the film, Michael (who is based on the real priest Gary Thomas) becomes a believer after becoming unable to explain away the phenomena he witnesses in the exorcisms in terms of psychosis or ESP any more--there is just no explanation any more for how the possessed know know so much about him or how the possessed react to holy rites conducted by the eccentric, half crazy Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins). In this film, it is actually really weird how, in fact, the demon itself works so hard to make Michael believe in the Devil and therefore God...It is strange because, if I were the demon and hoping to lead Michael away from God and remain a skeptic and quit the priesthood and all, I would just stay quiet or try to act like it is a psychosis. The bumbling demon, however, has to show his supernatural devilish powers again and again and push Michael over the edge into faith. Uh-Oh. The consequence? Now the devil and his legions have to fight against an active Father Gary Thomas who is a very famous exorcist. Damn. I would bet that demon's superiors gave him a good tongue lashing on that blunder in the war against the forces of good. Or maybe that is part of a greater long-term strategy?

That inexplicable part aside, I recommend the film because it makes you ask some fascinating, and possibly unanswerable? questions about the nature of our world and the possible existence of supernatural phenomenon. I consider myself a faithful believer in many Christian ideas such as humility, forgiveness, and self-sacrifice, and do my best to practice them, but still feel the "jury is out" as the main character Michael put it, on this spiritual battle stuff. I am keeping an open mind and am willing to go where the evidence leads.

In real life, maybe this is related to why we never see possession or exorcisms on real video; the demons probably are coached to shut up and never get filmed in a way that would convince people they are real because a series of convincing, scientist and journalist observed YouTube videos that show demons are really possessing people and can only be fought with rites would get more faithful Christian believers than a century of sermons. It is mind-boggling to consider how this all works, if it actually does happen. So far, I haven't seen anything convincing.

Further Reading:

1. http://www.skepdic.com/exorcism.html

2. An Interview of Father Gary Thomas on his exorcism work - apparently he only has one possessed person he is working with as of January this year. He admits most people who ask for help need a doctor or psychologist, not an exorcist, and that most exorcisms are low key affairs that are done several times on the same person. But at the same time he claims to have witnessed dramatic, violent events like those in the film that made him find his faith. Curious.

3. Ebert on the film. "eerie...evocative...grant its assumptions and it has something to say"

4. The book by Matt Baglio that the movie is based on seems to have gotten good reviews on Amazon.