2012’s The Devil Inside came at a prime time when Found Footage and Exorcism movies were all the rage (i.e., getting old). Main character Isabella makes a documentary trying to investigate the true cause of her mother’s downward spiral that brought her to murder three people during an exorcism. Was she suffering from mental illness, or do demons really exist? Isabella and her camera crew travel all the way to Rome to find answers.
When the trailer started coming out, I was truly excited for The Devil Inside. Usually, I’m not into exorcism movies (me being an athiest) so I don’t find them particularly scary and more eye-roll-inducing than anything. This though, was different; done in a faux documentary style, The Devil Inside gives a little more credit to the whole ordeal. Anything is believable if you include interviews from experts. The movie seemed to blend all my favorite parts of found footage and mockumentaries, so much so that I decided to see this in theaters.
And at the time, I thought it was great. There were jumpscares (which aren’t necessarily my favorite thing but they still can make for a good time). The characters felt believable in their search for answers, especially Isabella. And the acting in the exorcism scenes? Mind-blowing.
There is a “standard procedure,” so to speak, in exorcisms. The person starts off sweet and normal, then progressively gets worse — cussing, screaming or growling, sometimes unnatural movements, etc. There is a scene at the beginning where Isabella and her camera crew tag along during an exorcism to get a feeling of what it will be like when they confront her mother. The woman being exorcised does things I have never seen that most definitely caught me off-guard. One thing in particular was the bleeding. Sure, we might see some cuts and blood come from mouths or fingernails, usually self-inflicted, but this girl started bleeding from her vagina — period-style. It’s startling because you’re not expecting to see something to that level of uh, decency? Privacy, I suppose, I don’t really know. There isn’t a word I can use to describe the feeling but the point remains. Regardless, you’re already caught off guard and are ripe-and-ready to experience the twisting and writhing of an expert contortionist, which I always love seeing in these types of films.
One point I will harp on for not being great are scenes that tell more story. There are a few instances where The Devil Inside cuts off at the height of the action or doesn’t show enough. The scenes showing dramatized backgrounds to the sound of a 9-1-1 call could have shown more (although I’d probably say the opposite if they actually did). And the ending is just so abrupt! There are few times when I want to see more from an exorcism movie, and The Devil Inside just doesn’t give me enough.
Viral marketing (“connect the cuts“) and a time-tested film style (Found Footage) unfortunately couldn’t save The Devil Inside. Today, it’s barely remembered unless you’re talking about exorcism movies specifically. I think that for its time it wasn’t great but definitely not horrible, but nowadays I’d be happier just seeing a highlight reel.
What do you think of The Devil Inside? Let us know in the comments!
