Exorcismos e Demônios

I so often have such high expectations in this genre, but am almost always disappointed. I went into this with very low hopes, but was pleasantly surprised. Based on true events, this film is interesting, entertaining, and very well made.

Initially I thought it was a historical story, and was a little confused to see it was present day Romania. I liked the setting, it was certainly different.

Very well acted, with super production values, and of course we get every single stereotype known to man, the voice, the levitation, the flies, and of course the dishy priest.

Predictable, but very well made. 7/10

Not the most exciting film, it's a horror mystery, that's more mystery than horror and the mystery was not that interesting. It was about a faithless journalist trying to prove God is not real by doing a story about a Priest in jail for murder because an exorcism went wrong. Sounds like a good story. The setting of the movie also seemed good as it takes place in Romania, during a holiday that, according to the film is similar to Halloween, and when I herd this at the beginning of the film I was jazzed to watch a Halloween picture during the season.  The Crucifixion shows a lot of elements of mystery and sexuality that makes if feel like a homage of Hammer Horror, but it falls a little short from become a classic of even a cult classic, real short.

I decided to watch this film because I was attracted to the fact that it was based on a true story and that it is connected to Romania, which is very close to my city.

Anyway, the film is quite good. The rating of 5 here really does not reflect the overall experience.

I would give 10 for the setting, the interiors ( especially the room of the possessed girl and the churches and all the rooms ) as they have that 'something' that really stands out.

The acting of all the actors, except the main actress is really good. The main reporter girl is kinda too ... hasty and there was something about her abrupt ways that did not click with me. Maybe she was meant to be like that.

The last ( 2nd exorcism) was kinda non believable while the 1st one was on point.

I am not 100% sure if they filmed all in Romania but it looked that way and that gave extra + to the story.

My rating is 8. The film was entertaining and interesting 99% of the time.

Like 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose' (based on the true story of Anneliese Michel) this movie is also based on the true story of the Tanacu exorcism, which was a case wherein Maricica Irina Cornici, a mentally ill nun at the Romanian Orthodox Church monastery of Tanacu in Vaslui County, Romania, was killed during an exorcism by priest Daniel Petre Corogeanu with the help of four other nuns.

Adelina's story is told through a series of flashbacks and this is where there are some truly disturbing elements and shocking visuals which push the genre from murder/mystery/thriller to actual horror.

The Romanian setting has an almost Gothic allure and certainly adds atmosphere.

Although there were some cheap jump-scares it did actually manage to shock (and disgust) me a couple of times when something 'real' occurred.

I don't want to come across as negative in this review as this is a nicely made movie, however it's nothing I haven't seen before (done better).

6/10

Well I don't know what the people giving this movie a low rating were expecting, but to me it was an enjoyable film. It is certainly worth more than 5!

Obviously intended to make it easier for an American audience to relate to and understand, every person encountered spoke English - even in remote villages. That was annoying, as was this young American girl stomping around showing little respect. But this happens a lot in films like this set in foreign lands and was minor.

The acting overall was good as was the story. It was well produced and very watchable.