Overlook 2023 Film Festival – The Exorcist can be viewed as a reaction against the 1960s, free love, and the generally rebellious spirit of the decade. It’s fair to read into the film that structural powers, be it priests or doctors, try to control Regan as she comes of age. There’s also the fact her mother is an unmarried Hollywood actress who isn’t exactly keen on God. I mention all of this because Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism is very much about male control over a woman’s body. It’s not very subtle about it either. The result is a tense film that’s about far more than possession. This Australian feature is a cut above the countless and cheap imitations of William Friedkin’s 1973 classic with a few truly harrowing sequences.

Directed by Nick Kozakis, the film stars Georgia Eyers as Lara, a young woman tormented by a demon in her dreaming and waking life. Initially, Lara wants to continue taking pills and follow the advice of her doctor (Eliza Matengu). However, her husband Ron (Dan Ewing) tells her that she has some sort of spiritual deformity and needs an exorcism. Moreso, Ron is part of a group of religious zealots. Torn by faith and science, Lara agrees to go along with her husband’s plan, and faces relentless and brutal torment at the hands of Daniel (Tim Pocock), one of the most heinous villains I’ve seen in a film in some time. He ties Lara to a chair and frequently assaults her, to the point the group eventually dumps water on her face. He wants to utterly break her in the name of “freeing her soul.”

While the film has a few hair-raising moments involving Lara and the demon, its scariest moments come when Lara and Daniel face off. Whether or not she’s possessed, you want Lara to beat him because he’s so ungodly cruel, unjust, and sadistic. Meanwhile, Ron just stands by and allows much of it to play out, having totally bought into the group’s religious zealotry and warped mentality. There’s another layer to this movie in that Lara lost a baby, and it looms over her relationship with Ron, threatening their marriage. Is the “possession” a means for Ron to justify his anger towards Lara and her inability to give him a child? Perhaps. It’s fair to give the film such a reading.

The film’s other positives are its sound design, Dmitri Golovko‘s unnerving music, and Carl Allison’s cinematography. This is a visually striking and well-shot film. But the performances are what really carry this film. Eyers especially excels here, turning in a performance that had to be grueling, while Pocock plays one truly vile villain. Their performances aren’t easy to forget, and Eyers really pushes the limits here in a role much more demanding than the rest of the cast’s.

Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism is a tough and at times, rather brutal watch. The film’s execution doesn’t falter. This is a possession movie where the demon takes a backseat to the relentless violence men inflict upon a young woman who refuses to surrender her agency. Meanwhile, even the harshest moments are contrasted with compelling and emotional performances. Finally, we have a solid exorcism movie that’s much more than a knock-off made for cheap shock value.

7.5 Out of 10