Exorcism films are something of a contradiction. While many of the characters who populate these films are nonbelievers, the nature of an exorcism reinforces the infallibility of the church. If demons are real, then God must also be real, and even the most callous entries in the genre end up absolving some elements of organized religion. What makes Nick Kozakis’ “Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism” such a standout exorcism film is that it shines its light most brightly on the believers. “Godless” is the rare exorcism film to suggest that maybe, just maybe, exorcisms are not one of humanity’s finest traditions.
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Ron (Dan Ewing) has reached the end of his rope. For months, he has been helping his wife Lara (an excellent Georgia Eyers) manage delusional episodes as quietly as possible. But after several unproductive consultations — and one in-patient treatment plan that left both Ron and Lara exhausted — Ron decides for both of them to move forward with religious intervention. He believes that his wife’s problems have left the boundaries of modern medicine and that she needs a spiritual solution. And despite not sharing the same religious fervor as her husband, Lara is too scared and weak to do anything but give in.
And so Ron is introduced to Daniel (Tim Pocock), a religious fixer who has built his career around unsanctioned exorcisms. Daniel is described as a man who answers only to God, and Ron must agree to his every condition — without hesitation — if he will drive the demons out of Lara. Soon, Ron rallies his community for an exorcism that will push Lara to her physical limits and challenge the religious beliefs she so tenuously holds.
Based on that brief synopsis, it should be no surprise that the real evil in “Godless” is Daniel James King. Daniel floats through a world where faith has made him untouchable; as a self-proclaimed weapon of God, there is no piece of torture so cruel that it cannot be justified as an act of ultimate faith. As Daniel, Pockock’s physical presence is vaguely reminiscent of the American greaser. His charm and confidence are self-evident, but the lasting impression is one of barely contained violence. Twice we see him speaking to himself in the mirror before a session with Lara, and twice he unleashes a tirade of profanity and violence upon himself to get his mind right. He is a cruel man who has found a calling where that cruelty is a virtue.
Daniel represents the worst of the local church – but he is hardly alone. Ron is pressured by Barbara (Rosie Traynor), his local pastor, to discontinue Lara’s medication. Barbara tells him stories of her late husband’s battle with cancer and their shared regret at choosing chemotherapy over faith. Throughout the film, people float in and out of Lara’s life, sharing conspiracy theories about fluoride in the water or the godless nature of the modern world. Despite his best intentions, Ron refuses to let Lara speak for herself, cutting his wife out of conversations with her doctor entirely. “Godless” might be set in the 1990s, but it uses very contemporary ideas of religious extremism to show how fanaticism can slowly take hold of a community. Just like Satan, ignorance uses pain to worm its way in.
Granted, there are moments on the screen when the line blurs between illness and possession. Lara has repeated visions of a demon and a man on fire, and Kozakis constructs a handful of beautiful folk horror sequences to show us the world through her eyes. In one scene, Lara bursts into an open field to find a burning cross and a demon waiting for her. When Ron finally catches up to her a few minutes later, Lara has her arms outstretched and silently dances. These flourishes maintain the status quo – this is an exorcism film, after all, and some demonic elements are expected from the audience – but they reinforce Lara as an object of sympathy, not of fear.
(Kudos must also go to composer Dmitri Golovko, whose pulsing ambient score helps construct a soundscape for Lara’s struggles. Simple strings can go a long way in a horror film, and Golovko builds a musical pressure coming from all sides that complements the claustrophobic nature of the exorcism – and, really, the film itself.)
But what makes “Godless” special is how little that ambiguity matters. Many horror films are structured around a final reveal that tips the movie’s hand as to its true nature. That is not really the point here. Lara could be possessed or, more likely, suffering from a dissociative identity disorder sparked by an unbearable trauma. Neither of these truths matters because Lara herself does not matter. She is the latest skirmish in a religious campaign against a society that has rejected God. In “Godless,” the truth is subjective, and what matters is how religious leaders wield their version of the truth within their communities. And when religion is treated as separate and protected from the modern world, tragedy soon follows.
As with anything, onscreen exorcisms offer diminishing returns. After hundreds of films about demons and priests, there are only so many ways filmmakers can freshen up scenes with floating children or demonic voices. Kozakis and company have created a film that grapples with a society where things like exorcisms are allowed to happen in the first place. “Godless” offers a depiction of religion where the ends always justify the means. Kudos to the filmmakers for making a religious horror film where people — not monsters — are the ultimate danger. [B+]
