[OVERLOOK 2023 REVIEW:] HELL IS ON EARTH IN GODLESS: THE EASTFIELD EXORCISM
It’s hard to make a unique exorcism movie anymore. Many have tried, but most inevitably dip into the standard bag of demonic tricks to find their scares. Director Nick Kozakis’s Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism — which celebrated its world premiere at Overlook 2023 on Friday — is the rare exception, questioning the very validity of its central exorcism to deliver a vision of hell that is very much a place on earth.
Hailing from Australia, Godless begins in familiar territory, with husband Ron (Dan Ewing) taking wife Lara (Georgia Eyers) to Dr. Marisa Walsh (Eliza Matengu) to discuss Lara’s strange and unsettling behavior. We’re told by Dan, who is quick to speak for his wife even when questions are directed at her, that Lara has been sleepwalking and even sleep-dancing in the garden at night. She often seems distant, sometimes angry. She talks to someone who isn’t there. Her symptoms are ones that any horror fan would chalk up to demonic possession, and the script (penned by Alexander Angliss-Wilson) is well aware of this fact, relying on viewers’ knowledge of tropes to lay unexpected traps in the darkness.
In the opening scene, we get a glimpse of Ron’s religious practices, setting us up for a conflict between faith and science that most exorcism films would comfortably conclude on the side of faith. Except, Ron’s beliefs aren’t comfortable. Far from the kindly priests and hushed, venerated chapels we’ve grown used to in this type of film, Godless immediately confronts us with a scene of religious zealots whipped up into a fervor. Ewing keeps his performance grounded, leaving us uncertain how far down this path Ron has traveled and whether he’s past the point of no return.
It’s quickly established that Lara has experienced something traumatic in her past, but Ron doesn’t want to talk about it. He doesn’t want Lara to talk to Dr. Walsh at all; he only wants a referral so that he can get her an exorcism. When Dr. Walsh won’t give him what he wants, he pursues an unsanctioned exorcism instead, orchestrated by the swaggering, self-righteous Daniel James King (Tim Pocock).
With the arrival of King, Angliss-Wilson’s script craftily subverts our expectations yet again. We’re primed to view this man as the only hope, no matter how unorthodox his efforts might seem in the moment, but Pocock embues King ‘s every move with a smugness that makes us instinctively pull away. It certainly doesn’t help that he’s seen sipping from a flask before arriving at the house where he’ll soon hold a woman’s life — or possibly her eternal soul — in his hands.
Even before the film lays its cards on the table to reveal a devastating hand, the root cause of Lara’s symptoms rapidly becomes irrelevant as the exorcism gets underway. Bathed in sickly yellow light, and with the violin swelling, the scene forces us into Lara’s position as she’s screamed at and abused. Eyers gives a phenomenal performance, ensuring Lara’s humanity is always painfully close to the surface. As Godless moves into its gut-wrenching third act, Eyers' performance will leave you floored.
It might have a title that’s almost indistinguishable from a thousand knock-offs of The Exorcist, but Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism is in a league of its own. At times difficult to watch, and with a strong point of view that may move you to tears, it’s terrifying for reasons that have nothing to do with forces beyond our control.
