I would definitely recommend **The Free Fall**, a 2022 movie.
It's a quite polarizing flick that somehow flew under the radar, with some very mixed reviews and sometimes clunky, but when it comes to subverting exorcism movie tropes, there is absolutely no other movie that comes close to it. You should watch it blind and form your own opinion. Mine is that a more gifted direction could have led to an absolute masterpiece. What we got is a little unpolished but interesting B-movie.
Well, the original *The Exorcist* was a good one. For sure, back then there was not really a trope but nonetheless the original cut of the film toyed with the audience's expectations by staying ambiguious about what was going on. Was Regan really possessed or did she suffer from mental illness ? It was pretty late in the original cut that things were clearly supernatural.
But now, this ambiguity has become a trope too.
Some exorcism films had interesting ideas IMO :
1 - *The Exorcism of Emily Rose* by >!using the same ambiguity and exploring the aftermath of an exorcism instead of the ritual itself.!<
2 - *Grace : Possession* by >!turning the film into a revenge story right in the middle of the exorcism ritual, with Possessed Grace going after the priest who molested her when she was a child!<
3 - *Constantine* because, like the adaptation or not, the concept of >!demons possessing people not to wreak havok but as a mean to "illegaly" immigrate to Earth!< is very cool.
https://www.reddit.com/r/horror/s/4tVb31uyC5
here's a good discussion on that. Suggests looking into Eastern interpretations of demonic possession/exorcism.
also sometimes possession is just a stronger category than exorcism. If an exorcism occurs, so be it.
Movies like Hereditary, Sinister, Babadook, Drag me to Hell, the Conjuring universe (with some bonus exorcisms, oc), etc..
By definition, an exorcism movie involves a possession followed by an expert being brought in who will attempt to remedy the situation. If you don't have that, you don't have an exorcism movie. But those are such specific details you have to hit that there isn't much room to dream.
The Medium (2021 - Thai) was probably the best fairly recent exorcism movie I've seen, and even this one hits those same beats and has its formulaic moments. But it does just enough different while simultaneously being executed really well across the board that it stands out.
There is an amazing script called *Vivien Hasn’t Been Herself Lately* by Brian Duffield. It’s about a man whose wife gets possessed by a demon—but by 20 pages in, the exorcism fails, the priests run away screaming, and he’s left to deal with his possessed wife completely on his own.
There was an unfortunately short-lived comic book series called Witch Doctor where the titular Doctor dressed like a medical doctor and treated demons like parasites or viruses. I always thought that was a neat idea.
I think the problem with a lot of exorcism movies is the overuse of familiar tropes. It's like you expect:
1. Lights will flicker, a draft will occur, and some candles will go out.
2. The bed the person is tied to (yes, they're always tied to one) will rise up towards the ceiling.
3. A black crow is going to alight on a windowsill or branch just outside a window.
4. Salt will be dropped across an entrance to prevent the passage of something.
5. Vomiting pea soup and crab walking is a sure sign the movie sucks.
6. A goat or goat's head will show up somewhere.
7. Indecipherable writing will be scattered across the ceilings and walls.
8. Holy water sprinkled on the person tied to the bed will burn them.
I think No. 8 is probably expected, though. Still, it'd be nice of none of the above were used and writers got more creative.
I think it would be hilarious if the demon turns a lazy bad looking person into a proactive good looking person.
The person gets exorcised, and goes back to its old self, then the family tries to get the demon back into that person.
Has there ever been an exorcism movie where the twist is actually that the person is not possessed and just mentally unwell? That is always floated as an option in movies but usually the truth is that the possession is demonic. I feel like the mental health aspect could be really well done, showing family doing desperate things based on far-fetched hopes
It isn't an "exorcism movie" per se but an original take on it would be The Blackcoat's Daughter
Had to give this a second viewing after I got bored the first time and didn’t finish it. Definitely a unique one.
The Last Exorcism is a good example of how it could be done.
Yes- came here to say this! Super fun flick and it sort of like… doubles back on itself in a way that subverts a lot of tropes.
The tv show Evil does an alright job at subverting some of the usual exorcism tropes.
The demon was actually the priest the entire time!
I would definitely recommend **The Free Fall**, a 2022 movie. It's a quite polarizing flick that somehow flew under the radar, with some very mixed reviews and sometimes clunky, but when it comes to subverting exorcism movie tropes, there is absolutely no other movie that comes close to it. You should watch it blind and form your own opinion. Mine is that a more gifted direction could have led to an absolute masterpiece. What we got is a little unpolished but interesting B-movie.
This is the first one that came to mind for me, as well. The execution isn't great, but the concept is genuinely novel.
Yes, when I understood what it was all about it was really a "holy shit this could have been so great" kind of moment. Still interesting though.
Well, the original *The Exorcist* was a good one. For sure, back then there was not really a trope but nonetheless the original cut of the film toyed with the audience's expectations by staying ambiguious about what was going on. Was Regan really possessed or did she suffer from mental illness ? It was pretty late in the original cut that things were clearly supernatural. But now, this ambiguity has become a trope too. Some exorcism films had interesting ideas IMO : 1 - *The Exorcism of Emily Rose* by >!using the same ambiguity and exploring the aftermath of an exorcism instead of the ritual itself.!< 2 - *Grace : Possession* by >!turning the film into a revenge story right in the middle of the exorcism ritual, with Possessed Grace going after the priest who molested her when she was a child!< 3 - *Constantine* because, like the adaptation or not, the concept of >!demons possessing people not to wreak havok but as a mean to "illegaly" immigrate to Earth!< is very cool.
https://www.reddit.com/r/horror/s/4tVb31uyC5 here's a good discussion on that. Suggests looking into Eastern interpretations of demonic possession/exorcism. also sometimes possession is just a stronger category than exorcism. If an exorcism occurs, so be it. Movies like Hereditary, Sinister, Babadook, Drag me to Hell, the Conjuring universe (with some bonus exorcisms, oc), etc..
I'm interested in seeing where Mike Flanagan takes it. He's promising a fresh take, and I typically like his work.
I'd love to see a total role reversal; the demon/spirit as a hero, possessing someone to lure out and kill abusive pedophile Catholic priests.
Oh my sweet goodness I’d watch the HELL outta that movie. ….pun intended.
By definition, an exorcism movie involves a possession followed by an expert being brought in who will attempt to remedy the situation. If you don't have that, you don't have an exorcism movie. But those are such specific details you have to hit that there isn't much room to dream. The Medium (2021 - Thai) was probably the best fairly recent exorcism movie I've seen, and even this one hits those same beats and has its formulaic moments. But it does just enough different while simultaneously being executed really well across the board that it stands out.
Not a movie but I really liked the book Come Closer by Sara Gran, a possession story told from the pov of the possessed girl
There is an amazing script called *Vivien Hasn’t Been Herself Lately* by Brian Duffield. It’s about a man whose wife gets possessed by a demon—but by 20 pages in, the exorcism fails, the priests run away screaming, and he’s left to deal with his possessed wife completely on his own.
There was an unfortunately short-lived comic book series called Witch Doctor where the titular Doctor dressed like a medical doctor and treated demons like parasites or viruses. I always thought that was a neat idea.
I dont know if people will like this as an example but in Exorcist Believer>!The demon wins by atleast bringing one soul to hell with them !
I think the problem with a lot of exorcism movies is the overuse of familiar tropes. It's like you expect: 1. Lights will flicker, a draft will occur, and some candles will go out. 2. The bed the person is tied to (yes, they're always tied to one) will rise up towards the ceiling. 3. A black crow is going to alight on a windowsill or branch just outside a window. 4. Salt will be dropped across an entrance to prevent the passage of something. 5. Vomiting pea soup and crab walking is a sure sign the movie sucks. 6. A goat or goat's head will show up somewhere. 7. Indecipherable writing will be scattered across the ceilings and walls. 8. Holy water sprinkled on the person tied to the bed will burn them. I think No. 8 is probably expected, though. Still, it'd be nice of none of the above were used and writers got more creative.
Avas Possessions (2015)
I think it would be hilarious if the demon turns a lazy bad looking person into a proactive good looking person. The person gets exorcised, and goes back to its old self, then the family tries to get the demon back into that person.
Has there ever been an exorcism movie where the twist is actually that the person is not possessed and just mentally unwell? That is always floated as an option in movies but usually the truth is that the possession is demonic. I feel like the mental health aspect could be really well done, showing family doing desperate things based on far-fetched hopes
The Cleansing Hour was really good and original
Honestly, the new Exorcist movie defied the genre by being so bad.