THE DEVIL INSIDE (2012)

Studio:       Paramount Pictures
Director:    William Brent Bell
Writer:       William Brent Bell, Matthew Peterman
Producer:  Matthew Peterson, Morris Paulson
Stars:     Fernanda Andrade, Simon Quarterman, Evan Helmuth, Suzan Crowley, Ionut Grama, John Prosky

Review Score:

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Summary:

The daughter of a woman whose exorcism resulted in the deaths of two priests and a nun travels to Italy in hopes of uncovering the truth about demonic possession.

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

1989 – A woman calls 911 and confesses to killing three people in an emotionless voice. Police crime scene video walks through the residence and shows the bloody remains of two priests and a nun before a woman rushes the camera. The woman, Maria Rossi, is taken into custody.

Isabella Rossi, Maria’s daughter, is introduced in 2009 as a documentary participant. She wants to learn more about what happened to her mother. Michael Schaefer is the cameraman. Interviews with a neurologist and a Catholic exorcist speculate on the nature of Maria’s affliction. After a conviction of not guilty by reason of insanity, Maria was transferred to the Centrino Hospital for the Criminally Insane in Italy. In May of 2009, Isabella’s father told her about her mother’s attempted exorcism back and the resulting deaths. Now it is December.

Isabella visits the Vatican School for Exorcism after the church contacts her to say her mother’s exorcism was never authorized. At the school, Isabella sits in on a lecture discussing multiple demonic possession and transference, which is where a demon jumps from one person to another. In the classroom, and over a meal afterwards, the priests from the school respectfully argue about psychology versus genuine possession.

Isabella visits the Centrino hospital to see her mother. Maria displays inverted crosses scratched into her arm and one carved inside her bottom lip. Her mother also shows Isabella a painting she made of their family, although she does not know who Isabella is and claims she does not have a daughter. She whispers something to Isabella before screaming madly, ending the session. Isabella passes a creepy blind nun in the street. She then contacts Father David Keane, MD, and Father Ben Rawlings, two priests she met at the lecture, to learn more about exorcisms. The two priests talk about their backgrounds before reviewing the tape of Isabella’s encounter with Maria. Isabella tells them that her mother whispered about an abortion Isabella had that Maria could not possibly have known about.

The two priests show Isabella their research equipment and materials on exorcisms that they are performing without the church’s knowledge. They take her to witness a real exorcism where the victim contorts into twisted positions and climbs up a wall before being subdued.

The diocese of Rome rejects Isabella’s request to review her mother’s case. Ben wants to help, but David worries about his job if the church finds out what they are doing. They arrange to try an exorcism on Maria at the hospital. During the rite, Maria implies that Ben cannot be in God’s good graces because of something in his past. She then breaks her restraints and flies off the table. As they try strapping her down again, she displays supernatural strength, pushing Ben and making him fly against the opposite wall. Maria begins attracting her daughter by singing ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider,’ but Ben snaps Isabella out of it. Eventually, the doctors enter and shut everything down.

Despite the taped evidence, the doctor does not believe that Maria is possessed, but his referral will allow Isabella to bring her mother back to the United States. While reviewing the tape from the hospital, Ben identifies four voices, indicating that multiple demons have possessed Maria. David grows visibly more worried about his career and also suffers a nosebleed.

The hospital reverses its decision to release Maria, upsetting Isabella. Isabella later finds David acting strangely by eating alone in the darkness. Michael accompanies David at a baptism where David attempts to drown the baby. Michael later explains what happened at the baptism to Ben and Isabella. They find David with rolled eyes just as the police burst through the door. David takes a gun away from one of the officers. Ben tries to reason with him. David tells Ben, “he says to say ‘thank you,’” and then shoots himself in front of everyone.

Isabella collapses after the suicide. Michael and Ben argue about demonic transference as they follow her to the hospital.

Ben pleads with hospital staff to let him take Isabella. Isabella goes into a rage and violently kills one of the staff members before she herself bends backwards and begins contorting. In the ensuing confusion, Michael and Ben drag her out of the hospital with the intention of taking her to a priest who can help.

In the car, Isabella wakens. She speaks in David’s voice and tells Ben she knows that he wanted his uncle to die. She attacks Michael while he is driving. Ben tries controlling her in the backseat as Michael’s physical condition starts worsening. Michael then drives them into oncoming traffic and destroys the car, presumably along with everyone inside.

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Review:

“The Devil Inside” sold over $34 million worth of tickets during its first weekend in the United States.  Regrettably, I was a contributor.  With my Catholic upbringing, passion for “The Exorcist,” and fascination with “found footage,” the stars seemed aligned when I came in under the buzzer to purchase the last two available seats at Universal CityWalk for the late show on opening day.  It was a varied mix of ages and ethnicities in the audience, many of whom reacted at the jump scares, and some of whom giggled at curious moments.  But there was one reaction that united everyone unanimously.  When the movie ended and the lights came up, nearly every head in the theater turned to the person they were with… and laughed.  It was not amused laughter.  It was the kind of guttural chortle that comes with the realization that you have just been had.  Somewhere, Nelson from “The Simpsons” was pointing while bellowing his signature catchphrase, “ha-ha!”

Every review I have read of the film rightly criticizes the same thing: the ending.  In actuality, it is difficult to criticize the ending.  Simply because there isn’t one.  The movie quite abruptly just stops with the display of a URL where apparently we can find out more information (www.therossifiles.com), and leaves the audience to wonder why they were cheated out of a complete movie.  That is an unpardonable sin that even the Pope would not forgive.

It is too bad really, that this prominent offense dooms the film no matter what transpired up until that point.  That missing reel leaves such a sour taste that I cannot objectively say whether I was leaning towards a recommendation beforehand or not.

The characters are interesting enough, and the Italian setting offers a backdrop not often found in similar movies.  Then again, it is easy to be taken out of the fantasy when the film wanders into familiar trappings of “found footage,” namely the documentary cameraman who cannot hold the camera steady and feels the need to zoom suddenly in the middle of a staged interview.

While light on any real meat about the nature of demonic possession or the rites of an exorcism, “The Devil Inside” is peppered with jump scares, particularly those with sudden spikes in the audio.  If things that jump out and go “boo!” eject you from your seat, there may be some fun to be had with the lights down low and the volume up.  But if you really want a “found footage” horror thriller about demonic possession, you might find better value in “The Last Exorcism.”  Although that movie has a somewhat ambiguous ending, at least it has one.

By the way, I visited the website advertised in the credits and I can tell you that the missing ending is not there either.  There are a number of videos though, presumably outtakes, with thrilling titles such as, “Isabella Rossi driving around Rome” and “Father David Keane talks about the church.”  If you expect to find anything that shows or explains events after the film stops however, you are out of luck.

Review Score:  40

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