The Exorcism of God

Plot

Father Peter Williams, an American priest working in Mexico, was summoned in 2003 to exorcise a demon from a woman named Magali Velasquez. During the rite, something went wrong. The demon briefly seized control, and the full details of what happened were never clear. Still, Peter stayed in the priesthood, focusing on charity work in a small Mexican town.

Eighteen years later, strange and terrible events began. A sickness struck the local children, and a young woman named Esperanza, locked up in the town prison, started showing violent signs of possession. Peter was called to perform another exorcism, but the case rattled him. Soon after, Magali told him that Esperanza was her biological daughter and begged him to save her.

Knowing he could not manage alone, Peter reached out to Father Michael Lewis, a seasoned exorcist. As they got ready for the ritual, they realized the demon had already spread, taking over several inmates in the prison. The priests were overwhelmed and had to barricade themselves in a room. While trying to regain control, Father Lewis asked why Peter’s prayers were failing.

Peter confessed that during the botched exorcism eighteen years ago, he had not only been possessed but had been seduced by the demon inside Magali. Under its influence, he had sex with her, and Esperanza was the result. Father Lewis was shaken and then revealed his own secret: he had never truly defeated the demon Balban. Instead, he had struck a deal with it.

Before he could say more, a possessed inmate mortally wounded him. With his last breath, he warned Peter never to bargain with Balban. Wanting to make amends, Peter recorded a video confession and sent it to Church authorities. But then the possessed inmates attacked, knocking him unconscious.

Release

The Exorcism of God first screened at Fantastic Fest on September 27, 2021. On that same date, Saban Films secured a distribution deal covering the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and South Africa. The film was then released simultaneously in theaters, on demand, and digitally on March 11, 2022. Critical reception has been mixed.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 57% approval rating from 14 reviews, with an average score of 5.10 out of 10. On Metacritic, it has a weighted average of 41 out of 100 from five critics, indicating mixed or average reviews. Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting noted some inventive scares but criticized the film for leaning heavily on genre conventions and for having a flat, unchanging lead character. Tracy Palmer of Signal Horizon described feeling freaked out, grossed out, and laughing after watching, and praised the jump-scares, gleeful violence, demon designs, and disturbing imagery, as well as the fast-paced, well-structured plot.

Justine Smith of RogerEbert.com gave the film two and a half stars out of four, pointing out aesthetic and narrative cliches but commending the logical progression of the plot and characters, along with enough originality to set it apart. Phil Hoad of The Guardian awarded three stars out of five, calling the film bombastic yet occasionally surprising, while noting its reliance on tired tropes and silly horror mechanics, ultimately describing it as a big, gaudy, overblown altarpiece of a horror movie.