2023 OVERLOOK FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW!
Lara Lavonde (Georgia Eyers) is struggling mentally and emotionally, but she’s unsure where her episodes, ones that mirror schizophrenia, are coming from. She wants medical attention, but she’s not getting the results that she had hoped for–and her husband, Ron (Dan Ewing), believes that something else is happening. He seeks refuge in the church–as he thinks she needs an exorcism. Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism tells their story as they do everything they can to find answers and solutions. The journey is harrowing, and all that they had hoped for may never come to be.
People die every year at the hand of religious folk. I grew up going to Catholic school, I attended church every week until I was in my teens, I was married in the Catholic church, and I still very much believe in my teachings from when I was younger. With that being said, I do not subscribe to the idea that the devil or other evil spirits enter the bodies of troubled souls and use them for unsavory reasons–meaning that I don’t believe that exorcisms are ever necessary. As Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism played out, my doubts continued to mount, and the content being presented to me on screen seemed far-fetched and improbable. I rolled my eyes on numerous occasions as a series of ridiculous things came to be. It was impossible for me to appreciate the things happening in front of me because I don’t believe. With films like this, filmmakers can eliminate certain viewers due to their religious beliefs, and Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism is a prime example of a film that does this.
What Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism does differently than other films of this nature is put it in perspective so that everyone can understand. At the conclusion of the film, Director Nick Kozakis includes on-screen text that expresses the severity of exorcisms around the world and how they can often cause death when not performed properly. Putting things in perspective and allowing viewers to truly understand what can actually happen when religious fanatics try to perform spiritual rituals without guidance. Do I believe there is any benefit to these ceremonies? No. But the fact of the matter is that some people believe they have a purpose, and sometimes they lead to death.
Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism is uniquely sexual and intimate, often showcasing Lara in an up-close-and-personal fashion, begging viewers to analyze her every move (and her performance is stellar every step of the way). The cinematography is often used to showcase her body, allowing viewers to see every piece of it. It’s possible that these moments that are strewn throughout Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism can be uncomfortable, but that plays very well into the tone of the film. While these instances create a level of arousal, what they do more is make the story as a whole more intimate and more accessible.
Viewers often find themselves, when watching low-budget horror films–subjected to horrific effects that ruin the film, making it nearly impossible to suspend their disbelief. Once again, Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism is different from other films of this nature. Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism is full of superb special and practical effects. While this film won’t be for everyone as a result of its content, the fact that the effects are able to effectively bring things to life throughout will allow a larger group of viewers to appreciate it.
Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism is not my cup of tea; it’s not the sort of film that I would seek out for pleasure–but the reality is that, in many ways, it’s different from other films of the genre. It makes things far more real than others, it employs a series of effects that allow these things to come to life–and the connections that the film is able to make in these moments shifts the momentum of the film and creates something accessible to more viewers than your typical religion-based horror film. Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism will be a struggle for some as a result of its content, but Kozakis and its writers find ways to broaden its horizon.
Directed by Nick Kozakis.
Written by Alexander Angliss-Wilson, Sarah Baker, Jason Buckley, & Pablo Zubieta.
Starring Georgia Eyers, Dan Ewing, Tim Pocock, Eliza Matengu, John Wood, Rosie Traynor, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
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