This movie will be available on DVD and VOD May 12, 2015.
As micro-budgeted, found-footage horror flicks go, An Irish Exorcism shows a little more flair than many of its ilk. That’s not to say that it doesn’t have its fair share of problems. Yet, while this effort is unlikely to win over anyone who isn’t already a fan of do-it-yourself, homemade cinema, it does uncommonly solid performances.
Lorraine (Aislinn Ni Uallachain) is a student shooting a video on the practice of exorcisms. After she and her cameraman (Dillon White) interview a pair of local priests (Paddy C. Courtney and Brian Fortune) with insight into the process, they come into contact with a woman (Elaine Hearty) who believes that her daughter has been possessed. After some finagling, the two documentary filmmakers are begrudgingly allowed to document the exorcism.
It’s a fairly polished but slowly plotted effort, following Lorraine as she conducts interviews with clergy, locals and eventually the mother of the possessed. That’s all well and good, but it results in a very long spell before viewers will get to the meat of the story – nearly the halfway point of the film. Thankfully, the cast are relatable and naturalistic enough to maintain interest, even as the story shuffles along leisurely.
Regardless, the actors can’t help but be let down a little by the production’s budgetary limitations. You won’t see much of an exorcism (Irish or otherwise). When the process begins, the camera rarely enters the young girl’s room, and what small glimpses we get don’t reveal much more than a white-eyed, glowering expression from the possessed victim.
Truthfully, there isn’t much the filmmakers have at their disposal besides the cast. And when the supernatural elements are sporadically used, they aren’t nearly as effective. Like many other possession and haunted house flicks, you’ll see pots rattling, papers shuffling on their own and pillows tossing themselves around. This isn’t necessarily a problem specific to the film, but of the genre as a whole. While the characters involved may be terrified, there isn’t much here viewers haven’t seen before.
Another unusual quirk is the rural house where much of the action takes place. The location is, quite frankly, lovely and doesn’t exactly do much to create a foreboding environment. In fact, it has one heck of an impressive wine cellar – I couldn’t help but think that it might be worth getting trapped down there with a demon to sample some of those bottles.
While it does have an interesting reveal that helps explain some of the back story for the family in turmoil, the climax doesn’t have much of an impact and events wrap themselves up abruptly without much of a sting. Again, it’s clear the people involved were making the best of what resources they had. Still, one can’t help but ultimately feel let down by the supposed pay-off.
If the cast hadn’t been so committed and believable, An Irish Exorcism could have easily fallen apart. It’s a compliment that the actors do manage to hold our attention for the duration, even if the end result doesn’t end up amounting to a whole lot. While it’s certainly flawed, I’d be more than willing to check out future projects from this group and hope they’re given additional funding (or pick a project that doesn’t requite as much in the way of effects work) next time out.