Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism review.
Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism takes a realistic approach to a traditionally supernatural story. Which is what makes it so scary.
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Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism
Directed by Nick Kozakis
Written by Alexander Angliss-Wilson
Starring Georgia Eyers, Dan Ewing, Tim Pocock, Rosie Traynor and Eliza Matengu
Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism Review
When Chris MacNeil asks Father Karras how she can get an exorcism for her possessed daughter Regan in The Exorcist, he calmly tries to explain to her that they aren’t don’t anymore. Not since the church learned more about mental illness. Now, in Regan’s case she was possessed by the demon Pazuzu and the church inevitably agrees to the controversial practice. Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism puts the person in peril into the hands of an unsanctioned, non-church approved exorcism. Whether she’s truly possessed or not…she finds herself in grave danger.
Lara (Georgia Eyers) has been diagnosed with mental health issues due to a traumatic event. Her husband Ron (Dan Ewing) believes that her illness is not treatable by medical methods or therapy. He is a devout religious man who believes that Lara is possessed. He requests that Lara’s therapist Dr. Walsh (Eliza Matengu) sign off on a recommendation to the church. She refuses…believing that treatment is what is best for her patient. Ron turns to Daniel (Tim Pocock), renowned for his unsanctioned exorcisms to cure his ailing wife.
Unlike most exorcism movies, Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism doesn’t paint the supposedly possessed Lara as the entity to fear. Whether Lara is possessed or not doesn’t even matter to the story. There is a scene between Lara and Ron where you understand how he’s come to believe her illness is a result of possession. Lara also tells us that when she was on her prescribed medication, she was starting to feel better.
Eyers pays Lara as a haunted woman. She’s experienced great loss and has never mentally recovered from it. She’s confronted with horrific visions. While she may believe her situation can be aided by traditional healing methods…she goes along with Ron’s plans long enough to find herself in over her head. It isn’t hard to understand why Lara believes in Ron even if she doesn’t believe in his faith.
One of the most interesting aspects of Godless is the way that it humanizes Lara’s husband. The scene where he becomes convinced of his wife’s possession paints him as a desperate, loving husband. It would have been easy to allow the passion of his religious beliefs to overwhelm any humane characteristics. Instead, he’s presented as a person who will do anything to save his wife…even turn to a dangerous man.
Daniel is a charismatic and terrifying man. Tim Pocock plays him with a growing menace. At times it recalls Colin Clive’s performance in the aftermath of bringing his creation to life in Frankenstein. There is a moment where Clive’s Dr. Frankenstein is completely untethered to reality. He exists in his own world, untouchable. Pocock stretches this to the entire climax of Godless. There is some effectively creepy imagery in this movie…but nothing touches Pocock’s ability to unnerve.
The first two acts build nicely with the layered performances of Eyers and Ewing. The third act becomes a brutal portrayal of physical and emotional violence. Community supported violence in the name of faith. The congregation cheering on the torture of a sick woman creates an image you won’t easily shake. What makes it so effective is how realistic Godless keeps it. This feels like real people lost in their beliefs. Fully committed to doing whatever it takes in the name of their God.
Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism gives us moments of pure terror. Not because a demon is threatening someone…because people are. People who can’t see that what they’re doing is dangerous and wrong. You will shake your head more than once while watching people who look like your own neighbors supporting Daniel’s horrific actions. This is a well-made film that builds to an explosion. A realistic nightmare.
Scare Value
There is some great horror imagery used in Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism. There are also some fine performances. What steals this show, however, is the commitment to showing the horrors of cult-like group think. Demons aren’t the monster at the heart of this exorcism story…people are. People that look and act like regular, caring people…but are so lost in their beliefs they fail to see what is truly wrong.
3.5/5
Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism Link
Streaming on Tubi
