DVD Review: Exorcism: The Possession of Gail Bowers

DVD Reviews

By Patrick Luce Jan 24, 2006, 0:42 GMT

The film, which Scott based on different accounts of possessions, follows a teenage girl, named Gail Bowers, who moves into a new home with her sister and brother-in-law following the death of her parents. Although everything is fine at first, it doesn’t take long for Gail (played by Erica Roby in her first film) and her family to start noticing things just aren’t quite right. It begins with ghostly visits in the night, strange behavior (including Gail developing a bad vocabulary full of naughty words), and finally full possession complete with Gail levitating, speaking in tongues, and looking like she is in bad need of a makeover show. After psychiatrists fail to offer any real solution for what is causing Gail’s problems (one even recommends calling the priests), the family is forced to turn to the church and an exorcism is quickly ordered. With few priest having any real experience in dealing with the possessed, the church turns to Father Thomas – a priest who we meet early in the film when an exorcism goes very bad leaving him blind. Shouting every prayer known to man, Father Thomas and two other priests confront the demons inside Gail and a major battle between good and evil takes up the rest of the film.Although the movie’s plot has been done before (lets face it, nothing is ever going to live up to The Exorcist), Scott’s own love for the horror genre makes this movie just fun. He has mastered what it takes to make a good horror film on a tight budget and shows his own knowledge of horror in this movie. The movie has touches of The Entity (such as when Gail is being visited at night); Stigmata (when Gail forms a cross and starts bleeding from her hands and feet); White Noise (when Gail sees ghostly images in the television) and naturally The Exorcist. Scott also has the movie go “low tech” with practically no computer generated effects (like what was used in King of the Lost World) or actors running around in creature suits (like Beast of Bray Road or Frankenstein Reborn). Instead, the film has quick edits of things jumping out at you, something quickly walking by the camera, and some great facial expressions from Roby – when that girl screams it is down right creepy.

Tom Downey is a blend of the traditional priest and Dirty Harry

Noel Thurman is also good in the movie as Gail’s sister – who desperately wants to save her sister, but is lost as to what do. She does a good job as the emotional center of the film and reminds you just how serious the situation is that they are facing.Another great part of the movie is Tom Downey’s performance as Father Thomas Bates – who the actor makes a blend of the traditional priest and Dirty Harry. He is blind, wears shades and looks like he walked off a classic John Carpenter set. The role could have been played reserved or trying to act like Max Von Sydow’s Father Mirrin, but Downey transforms the priest into almost a super-hero without the cape. This may not have been what Scott had in mind for the character (in the behind the scenes feature he admits it wasn’t), but it makes the film even more fun to watch. It also lightens some of the mood, and reminds you that this is just a good time.Although the film is fun, there are some problems that take away from a bit of the enjoyment. Some of these problems can be blamed on the film being made on a lower budget (such as the levitating special effect) and some are a bit of a throw back to classic horror films – such as a person covered in a sheet walking in front of the camera. While these two problems don’t hurt the film, it does kind of distract from the “horror” element – I laughed when the person in the sheet ran across the screen.

Erica Roby uses great facial expressions to get extremely creepy

Another problem with the film is the sound. While it is fine throughout most of the movie, it does cut out from time to time – a problem that has occurred in other Asylum Home Entertainment films. This is more of a distraction than something that will make you hate the movie, and doesn’t happen enough to ruin the overall enjoyment of the film. Also, while I found Downey’s performance fun and Roby’s performance creepy at times, some audiences might find the actors a bit cheesy towards the final confrontation. Both actors keep the scene from getting away from them, but with all the yelling it can be a bit funny instead of scary. This is the same problem that has hounded any demon possession movie – including both prequels to Exorcist and The Exorcism of Emily Rose.The DVD comes with a couple of special features including a behind the scenes look with Leigh Scott, and some bloopers from the film – something Scott has included on most of his Asylum movies. The behind the scenes feature has an interview with Scott where he talks about how Asylum approached him about the project, the different research he did writing the script (Gail for instance was actually based on a boy), and how he wanted to shoot the film in a more low tech fashion compared to his past couple of films. They also show how the film did some of the special effects – such as Gail’s levitation, and how the effects were done in a more tradition horror film way instead of using CGI. Scott also discusses how Downey’s (who was not originally cast for the part) interpretation of the priest character was different from what he wrote, and why he liked it better.

The film’s plot is a great blend of different elements of the horror genre

Overall, Exorcism: The Possession of Gail Bowers is a fun movie for horror fans, and manages to hold its own against some of the other recent demon possession films that have made their way to the big screen (it is better than Renny Harlin’s monstrosity). Scott works with his budget and delivers a film that is entertaining, fun to watch, and will give the spine a tingle from time to time. I would recommend the movie to any horror fan, Asylum fan, or anyone that wants a little scare mixed with some popcorn.Exorcism: The Possession of Gail Bowers is available for pre-order at Amazon for a Jan. 31st release. As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.

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AntPFeb 26th, 2006 - 15:12:47

A quote from this review is on the back of the actual DVD.

Anthony

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AnonymousMar 9th, 2006 - 03:41:21

The reviewer didn't even mention that this movie is an extreme rip-off of The Exorcist! He deserves to be pimp slapped for that.

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Learn To ReadMar 9th, 2006 - 11:30:43

No he doesn't because every exorcism movie has been a rip-off of the Exorcist since it came out. Plus in the fifth paragraph he states 'Although the movie's plot has been done before (lets face it, nothing is ever going to live up to The Exorcist). Then later he addresses the prequels to Exorcist. Maybe you should read the review before jumping the reviewer. The movie has its faults but it wasn't that bad and managed a few scares.

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Mi55thang00Mar 16th, 2006 - 06:44:12

I thought this movie was scarier than exorcism of emily rose. There's a lot of scenes to make you jump off your seat or close your eyes. Also this is one of the bloodiest and gruesome movies I have ever seen!

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PatrickL.Mar 16th, 2006 - 14:56:45

If you thought this one was bloody, then you should watch some of Leigh Scott's earlier films such as Frankenstein Reborn or The Beast of Bray Road. He does like to use the fake blood and gore to help set the mood.

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what a bunch of moronsMar 23rd, 2006 - 22:46:56

You think this was a good movie?
This was low budget crap, I had to fast forward through most of the movie...
..the only smidgeon of redeeming quality this movie had was we got to see the actresses tits for about 30 seconds. Better then Emily Rose or Dominion (Renny Harlon) are you serious? This movie looked like it was some college kid's film school project gone wrong.

This may may have been the cheesiest, lamest, low budget joke of a film I ever had the displeasure to see. I like the Exorcism genres, and at least they are going to remake The Omen this summer as well.......but it baffles me how any director can get funding for this piece of crap.

You call yourselves horror fans? You should be ashamed of yourself that you liked this film.

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Horror FansMar 23rd, 2006 - 23:03:04

You call yourself a horror fan when you are saying 'at least they are going to remake The Omen this summer.' How can anyone be jumping up and down for a remake of that.

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dont worry about itApr 12th, 2006 - 02:36:59

who what a bunch of morons is you should be punch in the face !!!!!

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JudasApr 13th, 2006 - 15:00:34

This movie isn't great but it is a damn site better than the prequels to the original Exorcist. The Emily Rose movie is a crock of poop, plain and simple!. It makes Uwe Boll's movies look like Romero's 'Dead saga' for Christ sake. Not one bit of it is able to redeem the cast or crew of that crapfest for their actions in bringing it to us. As I said, this movie aint all that great but it isn't the worst of the demon possession movies, not by along shot.

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WarbringerApr 17th, 2006 - 01:44:28

Hey guys,if you think THIS movie was bad,maybe you should see 'Infested'.I think this movie was pretty good,i would rate it about 4 out of 10...on the other hand, Infested...now that's a lame movie...it can't even scare a 4 yr old kid...crappy effects,lame 'monster',acting was horrible,and the way to kill the 'monster' was just stupid...sad,huh?So...overall,Exorcism:The Possession of Gail Bowers was pretty good,i liked it...hit me back with your oppinion after you see Infested ;)

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DVD Review: Exorcism: The Possession of Gail Bowers

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