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Overall Rating : 6.5/10
Directed By : Leigh Scott
Thomas Downey (The Beast of Bray Road)
Brick Firestone (Dead Men Walking)
Noel Thurman (The Beast of Bray Road)
Erica Roby
Supplied By : The Asylum
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : Jan. 29, 2006
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| PLOT A psychiatrist suggests unorthodox treatment for a young girl displaying erratic and violent behavior. Certain the girl believes she has been possessed by the Devil, the doctor contacts a Catholic priest to perform the Holy Rite of Exorcism. That is when the true horror begins... |
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| THE REVIEW From Director Leigh Scott comes EXORCISM : THE POSSESSION OF GAIL BOWERS, a film that not only impresses me but entertained me for it's entire runtime as well. This story is about Gail Bowers, a young teenage woman who has recently lost both of her parents. With not much of a choice left, Gail moves in with her sister Anne and her Brother-in-Law Clark, both of whom are hoping to prepare Gail for college. All seems peaceful until one day Gail's friend suggests using a Ouija board to contact her deceased parents. This proves to be a rather dangerous move, as one day a curious Gail attempts to contact them using that very board. After what she believes is a failed attempt, Gail gives up but she soon realizes that she has awaken an evil spirit that is far more dangerous than she could every imagine. Anne and Clark are worried as Gail begins acting rather strangely and out of the ordinary and it seems that Gail has no knowledge of her actions. Attempting to get to the bottom of just what is happening to the girl the girl, the concerned relatives begin to seek help in the form of a doctor of whom they went to college with. The young doctor's help deems useless and when all else fails the only choice left is to call on a retired priest who was previously blinded in an exorcism years ago, Father Thomas Bates. With the world's recent fascination with exorcism we have seen a fair share of films plaguing all forms of cinema as of late. I will be the first to tell you that I HATE exorcism movies and any movie regarding religion,(they are boring) it is very hard for me to be pleased with such a film. This coming from a guy that couldn't make it 20 minutes into THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE without turning it off, I can tell you that EXORCISM : THE POSSESSION OF GAIL BOWERS is different. This film takes elements of those previously mentioned films adds some of its own originality and just makes one entertaining story out of it all. Instead of your typical slow paced religious epic, this film approaches it in a different way, almost as if it it being made as hip or modern, I really liked how Scott chose to incorporate the use of a Ouija board, almost everyone has experimented with one, and they probably remember, that when they were younger being freaked out at the possibility of something really happening. Well in this film that becomes a reality as Gail is possessed by an evil spirit in which she called upon with the Ouija board. One of the best parts of the film aside from the effects are the times that Gail speaks with enough vulgar ness that could almost rival Regan from the original EXORCIST. The dialogue does make an impact as it is delivered quite harshly and to the point, definitely not for the softies out there! This might be Leigh Scott at his best...or at least so far, as he is quite talented. The direction is very smooth and the film is often seen in dull gloomy colors, thus adding to the overall creepiness, much like that off an Italian film i'd say. Scott also keeps the pace going rather smoothly as well, he definitely doesn't leave one dull and dry by watching, with this film I can't say I ever lost interest. The conclusion of the film is full of suspense as the demon has no will to lose....it's almost like a fight to the death type of thing. But being filmed on a lower budget, it is bound to have some flaws. Perhaps my biggest complaint would be that on some of the make-up, particularly around gail's eyes before she transforms, it looks sort of too simple and not too convincing in my opinion. Also the two doctors' offices or Thornhill and Rosa used in the film look quite simple almost as if they are the same room but I can't be too sure. The acting in EXORCISM, is kind of uneven, there are some really great performances while other performances not so great. The young lady that plays Gail, Erica Roby does a great job with the character, but in some instances her inexperience shows, but I just know that in due time she will improve, I can't wait to see more her! Maybe my favorite performance comes from Brick Firestone as Clark. I had seen him previously in DEAD MEN WALKING but his character in that one was so one dimensional that he barely had a chance to show what he is capable of. While in this film, Firestone's character is one who has to be tough on his young sister-in-law but at the same time is also genuinely caring towards Gail. Thomas Downey also shows us another great performances as he portrays a man who has been beaten and bruised emotionally, which also leads him to question his faith. I think Downey does a good job at showing us, the viewer just how determined a man Thomas Baker is as he fights for what he believes in. This film is quite possibly my most favorite Asylum film I have reviewed to date. I liked the creepy atmosphere the direction gives as well as the story, which happens to not be too complex, it just goes straight to to point, which results in a much faster pace. |
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| GORE
METER 4.5/10 Not really all that gory as is most exorcism movies, but the film does have plenty impalements. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 610 The score happens to be really good here! The film starts of with some circus sounding music, while the rest of the film is laced with a haunting score that really benefits the overall tone of the movie. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM EXORCISM : THE POSSESSION OF GAIL BOWERS kept me entertained to say the least. I was very impressed with the film, and it's great use of budget available. This is one that I would highly recommend to you even if you are not a fan of these types of movies, definitely worth seeing! |
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