[Film Review] Exorcist Vengeance (2022)

ReviewFilm ReviewHorror
Written By Ygraine Hackett-Cantabrana / Senior Contributor

Exorcist Vengeance follows tough cookie Catholic priest Father Josef as he battles against the ultimate evil, the Devil himself. After the possession of a prominent family occurs, Father Josef must draw on experiences from his own past if he is to lay the demons to rest.

Directed by Scott Jeffrey and Rebecca J. Matthews, Exorcist Vengeance is part Robert Rodriguez style exploitation cinema in the character of Father Josef, a gun toting, world weary exorcism expert, reminiscent of Danny Trejo’s Machete Kills (2013). After the death of the family’s matriarch, Agnes, her live-in carer is possessed and the family seeks the services of Father Josef. Whilst performing the exorcism, family members begin to be killed off in mysterious circumstances, and so in joining forces with Rebecca (Agnes’ granddaughter) they must rid the house of all evil.

With one of the biggest horror movies of all time being a demonic possession movie, it sets the standards extraordinarily high for all possession and exorcism films that are made thereafter. For a possession film to be successful, it must have an original viewpoint, lest it be a poorly made carbon copy of William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (1973). Whilst Exorcist Vengeance certainly seems to be an ode to Friedkin’s horror masterpiece, it unfortunately falls a little bit short when it comes to the actual demonic exorcist factor. Lacking any sort of demonic lore or factual rites of exorcism knowledge, it feels a little bit two dimensional. 

The highlights of Exorcist Vengeance lies within the special FX work used on the possessed humans. With plenty of spurting bodily fluids, demonic unnatural growling and vocal manipulation, and enough black smoke to satiate fans of the popular tv show Supernatural, it is the special FX department of the film, both practical and computer graphics, that are to be commended. Another positive aspect of Exorcist Vengeance is the portrayal of the possessed home carer Magda played by Anna Liddell. The actor seems to revel in the role as a regurgitating, snarling conduit of the Devil, and it is the standout performance of the whole piece.

Exorcist Vengeance, while it is difficult to pin down a particular tone, seems to be an homage to the demonic occult films of the 1970s, like the aforementioned The Exorcist (1973) and The Sentinel (1977), as well as the characters of exploitation movies from the same era in addition to a murder mystery who-dunnit reminiscent of early giallo. It seems with a little more fine tuning, a more defined narration and playing more to the film’s strengths, Exorcist Vengeance could have huge potential.

Members Content
[Editorial] “I control my life, not you!”: Living with Generalised Anxiety Disorder and the catharsis of the Final Destination franchise
[Editorial] “I control my life, not you!”: Living with Generalised Anxiety Disorder and the catharsis of the Final Destination franchise

I can sometimes go months without having a panic attack. Unfortunately, this means that when they do happen, they often feel like they come out of nowhere. They can come on so fast and hard it’s like being hit by a bus, my breath escapes my body, and I can’t get it back.

[Editorial] 5 Slasher Short Horror Films
[Editorial] 5 Slasher Short Horror Films

When people think of horror films, slashers are often the first thing that comes to mind. The sub-genres also spawned a wealth of horror icons: Freddy, Jason, Michael, Chucky - characters so recognisable we’re on first name terms with them. In many ways the slasher distills the genre down to some of its fundamental parts - fear, violence and murder.

[Ghouls Podcast] Maniac (2012) with Zoë Rose Smith and Iona Smith
[Ghouls Podcast] Maniac (2012) with Zoë Rose Smith and Iona Smith

Throughout September we were looking at slasher films, and therefore we decided to cover a slasher film that could be considered as an underrated gem in the horror genre. And the perfect film for this was Franck Khalfoun’s 2012 remake of MANIAC.

[Editorial] If Looks Could Kill: Tom Savini’s Practical Effects in Maniac (1980)
[Editorial] If Looks Could Kill: Tom Savini’s Practical Effects in Maniac (1980)

In the late seventies and early eighties, one man was considered the curator of all things gore in America. During the lovingly named splatter decade, Tom Savini worked on masterpieces of blood and viscera like Dawn of the Dead (1978), a film which gained the attention of hopeful director William Lustig, a man only known for making pornography before his step into horror.

[Editorial] Deeper Cuts: 13 Non-Typical Slashers
[Editorial] Deeper Cuts: 13 Non-Typical Slashers

Looking for some different slasher film recommendations? Then look no fruther as Ariel Powers-Schaub has 13 non-typical slasher horror films for you to watch.

[Editorial] Editor’s Note: Making a slash back into September
[Editorial] Editor’s Note: Making a slash back into September

Even though they are not to my personal liking, there is no denying that slasher films have been an important basis for the horror genre, and helped to build the foundations for other sub-genres throughout the years.

[Editorial] 8 Mind Horror Short films
[Editorial] 8 Mind Horror Short films

But some of the most terrifying horrors are those that take place entirely under the skin, where the mind is the location of the fear. Psychological horror has the power to unsettle by calling into question the basis of the self - one's own brain.

[Editorial]  Eat Shit and Die: Watching The Human Centipede (2009) in Post-Roe America 
[Editorial]  Eat Shit and Die: Watching The Human Centipede (2009) in Post-Roe America 

On Saturday, 17th June 2023, I sat down with two friends to watch The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (2009) and The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) (2012). I was nervous to be grossed out (I can’t really handle the idea of eating shit) but excited to cross these two films off my list.

[Editorial] Top 15 Female-Focused Mind Horror Films
[Editorial] Top 15 Female-Focused Mind Horror Films

Many of the most effective horror films involve blurring the lines between waking life and a nightmare. When women in horror are emotionally and psychologically manipulated – whether by other people or more malicious supernatural forces – viewers are pulled into their inner worlds, often left with a chilling unease and the question of where reality ends and the horror begins.

[Editorial] 8 Body Horror Short films
[Editorial] 8 Body Horror Short films

Body horror is one of the fundamental pillars of the horror genre and crops up in some form or another in a huge variety of works. There's straightforward gore - the inherent horror of seeing the body mutilated, and also more nuanced fears.

[Editorial] Metal Heart: Body Dysmorphia As A Battle Ground In Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)
[Editorial] Metal Heart: Body Dysmorphia As A Battle Ground In Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)

In the sweaty summer of 1989, emerging like a monochrome migraine from the encroaching shadow of Japan’s economic crash, Shin’ya Tsukamoto’s Tetsuo: The Iron Man shocked and disgusted the (very few) audiences originally in attendance.

[Editorial] Top 15 Female-Focused Body Horror Films
[Editorial] Top 15 Female-Focused Body Horror Films

Whether it's the havoc wreaked on the human body during pregnancy, emotional turmoil producing tiny murderous humans or simply a body turning on its owner, body horror films tend to be shocking. But while they're full of grotesque imagery, they're also full of thoughtful premises and commentary, especially when it comes to women, trauma, and power.

RELATED ARTICLES

Featured
[Film Review] Sympathy for the Devil (2023)
[Film Review] Sympathy for the Devil (2023)

If you know me at all, you know that I love, as many people do, the work of Nic Cage. Live by the Cage, die by the Cage. So, when the opportunity to review this came up, I jumped at it.

[Film Review] V/H/S/85 (2023)
[Film Review] V/H/S/85 (2023)

When V/H/S first hit our screens in 2012, nobody could have foreseen that 11 years later we’d be on our sixth instalment (excluding the two spinoffs) of the series.

[Film Review] Kill Your Lover (2023)
[Film Review] Kill Your Lover (2023)

When someone is in a toxic relationship, it can affect more than just their heart and mind. Their bodies can weaken or change due to the continued stress and unhappiness that comes from the toxicity.

[Film Review] Shaky Shivers (2022)
[Film Review] Shaky Shivers (2022)

If you can’t count on your best friend to check your teeth and hands and stand vigil with you all night to make sure you don’t wolf out, who can you count on? And so begins our story on anything but an ordinary night in 1993…

[Film Review] Elevator Game (2023)
[Film Review] Elevator Game (2023)

The best thing about urban legends is the delicious thrill of the forbidden. Don’t say “Bloody Mary” in the mirror three times in a dark room unless you’re brave enough to summon her. Don’t flash your headlights at a car unless you want to have them drive you to your death.

[Film Review] A Wounded Fawn (2022)
[Film Review] A Wounded Fawn (2022)

A Wounded Fawn (Travis Stevens, 2022) celebrates both art history and female rage in this surreal take on the slasher genre.

[Film Review] Perpetrator (2023)
[Film Review] Perpetrator (2023)

Perpetrator opens with a girl walking alone in the dark. Her hair is long and loose just begging to be yanked back and her bright clothes—a blood red coat, in fact—is a literal matador’s cape for anything that lies beyond the beam of her phone screen.

[Film Review] Mercy Falls (2023)
[Film Review] Mercy Falls (2023)

Filmed on location in Scotland, Ryan Hendrick's new thriller Mercy Falls (2023) uses soaring views of the Scottish Highlands to show that the natural world can either provide shelter or be used as a demented playground for people to hurt each other.

EXPLORE

Featured
[Editorial] 10 Films & Events to Catch at Soho Horror Film Fest 2023
[Editorial] 10 Films & Events to Catch at Soho Horror Film Fest 2023

Now it’s time for Soho’s main 2023 event, which is presented over two weekends: a live film festival at the Whirled Cinema in Brixton, London, and an online festival a week later. Both have very rich and varied programmes (with no overlap this year), with something for every horror fan.

[Editorial] 9 Horror Nintendo Switch Games To Play
[Editorial] 9 Horror Nintendo Switch Games To Play

In the six years since its release the Nintendo Switch has amassed an extensive catalogue of games, with everything from puzzle platformer games to cute farming sims to, uh, whatever Waifu Uncovered is.

[Mother of Fears] Mothering in Silence in A Quiet Place (2018)
[Mother of Fears] Mothering in Silence in A Quiet Place (2018)

A Quiet Place (2018) opens 89 days after a race of extremely sound-sensitive creatures show up on Earth, perhaps from an exterritorial source. If you make any noise, even the slightest sound, you’re likely to be pounced upon by these extremely strong and staggeringly fast creatures and suffer a brutal death.

[Editorial] 5 Female Focused Horror Book Recommendations
[Editorial] 5 Female Focused Horror Book Recommendations

If you like cults, sacrificial parties, and lesbian undertones then Mona Awad’s Bunny is the book for you. Samantha, a student at a prestigious art university, feels isolated from her cliquey classmates, ‘the bunnies’.

[Editorial] 9 Best Slashers Released Within 10 Years of Scream (1996)
[Editorial] 9 Best Slashers Released Within 10 Years of Scream (1996)

The slasher sub genre has always been huge in the world of horror, but after the ‘70s and ‘80s introduced classic characters like Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, Leatherface, and Jason, it’s not harsh to say that the ‘90s was slightly lacking in the icon department.

[Mother of Fears] Mother Vs. Monster in Silent Hill (2006)
[Mother of Fears] Mother Vs. Monster in Silent Hill (2006)

Mother is God in the eyes of a child, and it seems God has abandoned the town of Silent Hill. Silent Hill is not a place you want to visit.

[Editorial] 9 Terrifying Cerebral Visions in Horror Movies
[Editorial] 9 Terrifying Cerebral Visions in Horror Movies

Being able to see into the future or back into the past is a superpower that a lot of us would like to have. And while it may seem cool, in horror movies it usually involves characters being sucked into terrifying situations as they try to save themselves or other people with the information they’ve gleaned in their visions.

[Mother of Fears] I Don’t Wanna Be Buried in a Pet Sematary (1989) and (2019)
[Mother of Fears] I Don’t Wanna Be Buried in a Pet Sematary (1989) and (2019)

Both the original Pet Sematary (1989) and its 2019 remake are stories about the way death and grief can affect people in different ways. And while the films centre on Louis Creed and his increasingly terrible decision-making process, there’s no doubt that the story wouldn’t pack the same punch or make the same sense without his wife, Rachel.

MORE ARTICLES

Featured
[Editorial] In Her Eyes: Tasya Vos in Possessor (2020)
[Editorial] In Her Eyes: Sara Lowes in Witchfinder General (1968)
[Editorial] The Babadook (2014)
[Editorial] In Her Eyes: Helen Lyle in Candyman (1992)
[Editorial] Lorraine Warren’s Clairvoyant Gift
[Editorial] Sara in Creep 2 (2017)
[Editorial] Sally Hardesty in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
[Editorial] Margaret Robinson: Hammer’s Puppeteer
[Editorial] Re-assessing The Exorcist: Religion, Abuse, and The Rise of the Feminist Mother.
[Editorial] Unravelling Mitzi Peirone’s Braid (2018)
Ygraine Hackett-Cantabrana / Senior Contributor

Twitter | Instagram

Previous

[Editorial] Hearts of Darkness: Mary Shelley - Mother of Monsters
Next

[Film Review] Two / Dos (2021)