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This film underpromised and overdelivered.

I read the scathing reviews and almost gave this movie a miss.

Until I got some free cinema tickets and decided to go and see this with my partner one night for the hell of it (no pun intended).

Let it be said, I'm both a cinephile and a huge horror fan - but almost to a fault.

I hate corny overuse of jump scares, I hate films that lack substance and just rely on tacky cheap thrills to get by.

You know, the kind of films like this year's box office smash hit Smile - which serve as a staple halloween flick for the average layman to get their yearly dose of scares.

I don't see how cr*p like Smile received such raving reviews for being utterly devoid of any originality, whilst this film actually dared to develop character and weave a solid story only to get review bombed as a result.

Prey For The Devil not only shook up the genre, establishing a unique story with a likeable protagonist, but it did well to space out it's scares and develop a story laden with spine tingling creep.

Honestly I do not say this much with horror cinema trips, but I came out of this experience feeling so respected by the writers.

I can see how the average layman would automatically give this a thumbs down even though I don't understand why people HAVE to make horror mutually exclusive from a well paced, patient script that goes for the long pay off.

A good horror film needs depth, it needs stakes, it needs a solid foundation of a story and a strong setting. Prey For The Devil has all of this, and paces itself evenly, making for fantastic pay off when the utterly disturbing scenes get underway (and under your skin).

I'm feeling restored after the absolute time waster that was Smile last month, and I have Prey For The Devil to thank for that.

If you're a true horror fan and love the sub-genre of possession films, you will be pleasantly satisfied by this film.

I would agree with someone else I was expecting more but it has a few great parts the rest is just ok. Jaqualine Byers and the supernatural are defiantly the best aspects! I'm lucky I have the regal subscription cause I probably wouldn't have seen otherwise. I'm nice about my reviews I think Pray for the Devil was solid for what it is, has a great story and awesome horror moments! Nice that Virgina Madsen is still going strong in horror she was best in Candyman and Ben Cross passed away in the last couple years I don't know why there wasn't a rest in piece for him. Solid for horror fans that's for sure.

Well religious stuff seduce me in movies... i've seen many good ones in the past but last years every single movie i picked was literally empty.. maybe it's my fault.. i 've seen everything about this topic falling angels,demons, possessed kids,demons, curses. I don't know... i am sicked of that storyline, a possessed girl climbing the walls, harming herself, swearing the priest or exposing his past...every time i give a it a change and i say to my self.. it might be something new, with creepy atmosphere and plot twist.. but it's the same stuff.. maybe i should give it a break.. but i have to say at least this one had descent SGI and good acting.. i 've seen some similar movies that were completely trash...

Much to my pleasant surprise, Prey for the Devil actually does have a sufficiently unique and compelling take on the possession sub-genre. Early on, the script introduces character background and thematic depth that causes the plot to largely be driven by an emotional core.

In this film, unwillingness to forgive oneself becomes a poison that causes a person to lose themselves and gives demons power to take over their minds. Only complete and total self-forgiveness can eliminate the demonic threat in such cases.

I loved this addition to the story, as it gave me something to root for beyond the rote plot machinations.

I really just wish that the rest of the film was as compelling as this, because in terms of visual execution and story beats, this movie is as generic as they come.

It's shockingly uninspired in its direction and in the set-up of its scares. Never once is it surprising or stunning. The actors give it their all but they really don't have anything to work with, as all the development was given to the themes and no room was left to tell us anything specific about the characters as they are in the present.

The director used a lot of handheld camera work and close-ups, and this is sad as it doesn't utilise the insane potential of the gorgeous, often spacious location the film is set in.

If a more artistically daring director had taken this script, they could have made it incredible. Instead, it's pretty middle-of-the-road.

Now, I wasn't really harboring much of any high hopes or expectations for this 2022 horror movie titled "Prey for the Devil", as exorcism movies tend to be dubious movies. But since I hadn't already seen the movie, and had the chance to do so, of course I opted to sit down and watch it.

Writers Robert Zappia, Earl Richey Jones and Todd R. Jones actually put together a rather enjoyable storyline and script here for director Daniel Stamm to bring to life on the screen. Sure, there were some generic contents to the storyline, but the writers also managed to put in new and interesting aspects to spruce up the storyline. I have to be honest and say that I was not only entertained by "Prey for the Devil", but I was also pleasantly surprised with how enjoyable it was.

The storyline is pretty straight forward, as exorcism movies tend to be following the same formula, but director Daniel Stamm managed to add a twist to the movie that made it all the more enjoyable.

"Prey for the Devil" has a good cast ensemble, with a great leading performance by actress Jacqueline Byers. The movie also have the likes of Colin Salmon, Virginia Madsen and the late Ben Cross on the cast list. I was really surprised to see Ben Cross in this movie, as he had passed away in 2020, so this was apparently his last movie performance.

Visually then "Prey for the Devil" was good, and it really added to the atmosphere of the movie that the special effects were so realistic and good to look at. These special effects definitely made it all the more of a convincing exorcism movie. Sure, there are an abundance of jump scares in the movie, almost to the point of where it was becoming a nuissance.

If you enjoy exorcism movies, then you definitely should check out "Prey for the Devil".

My rating of "Prey for the Devil" lands on a seven out of ten stars.