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So this past Sunday, I was cruising around TikTok, as I am wont to do, and I ran across a horror reviewer who was positively gushing about a film regarding exorcism that he just loved. I'm going to refrain from using his name as the last thing I want to do is cast shade upon anybody. But I had finished my editing ahead of schedule for once. And actually had a little bit of free time. So I decided to turn on my TV, which rarely gets any love these days, and search for the movie on Tubi. And that is how I wound up watching the first half of the movie Godless.
And why I lost 45 minutes of my precious time on a weekend. In case you've never listened to a bite episode or even heard of me, don't worry, I'm rather forgettable, so I don't blame you. This is a series that I normally resurrect like my own little pet zombie. An adorable, huggable zombie, let me assure you, during the month of October that focuses purely on horror movies. But I'm starting early this year, and who knows, I might keep it going year-round. And as for myself, I'm JJ, your friendly neighborhood ancient demonologist.
And I firmly believe that knowing some academic background into what you're watching can A heighten your enjoyment and B allow you to see through the Drivel. And let me be very clear, the movie Godless, which has the subtitle of The Eastfield Exorcism is the ultimate use case for Drivel. Released in 2023, this movie follows a couple in which the woman is either suffering from a mental illness or a demonic possession. Though the movie really tries to ride out this particular mystery, it fails spectacularly at him. But if that was its worst sin, then I could understand.
After all, many directors find straddling such a fine line difficult to do while also advancing the story. But no, where this movie goes horribly awry is simply the sheer lack of research, as anyone involved clearly has no idea how exorcisms work in the first place. I'll say this again for any would-be directors or writers who might be out there listening. Proper research can elevate even a mediocre film, The Stellar Heights. The one that comes to mind is 1995's The Prophecy, which still lives in this noggin, as it started a years-long search for the angelic script that was utilized.
And yes, I realized that this movie is supposed to be based on a true story. And that only deepens the sin that it makes because it's not clearly advertised. If this would movie was made to be a use case for what not to do, then maybe I could understand it. But it's not presented like that. So let's dissect. This couple is a mental health specialist. Apparently, just to get a form filled out so that a church-approved exorcist will see the woman. First, that is not how the church deals with mental health evaluations.
The church will almost always be highly involved with this portion so that it knows that it can rely upon the opinion of the practitioner. Otherwise, this step would be completely useless. Second, this couple then sidesteps any church-approved exorcism by turning to an outside practitioner who A has no authority of any church and B is branded as a child prodigy who is just so very, very special. And both of these should send alarm bells into the watcher's head.
Be wary of any so-called religious leader who has no formal education, as that is the perfect recipe for allowing deviant ideas to creep into a congregation. Not only have I seen that more times than I would like to even admit, and if you'd like to hear more about that, just let me know. But this movie typifies the scenario in a horribly gruesome way. Second, as both Father Mike Birdsong and actual exorcist, and I go into detail in the episode of The Do's and Don'ts of Exorcism.
Any exorcist must conduct the ritual from a position of authority, as otherwise nothing is there to protect that exorcist. You have to remember that an exorcist is going up against something so much greater than any human. And the fact that this sham exorcist in the movie actually says that he is doing this by his own authority. That's when I shortly turned the movie off after.
And all of that is not even talking about how the movie actually portrays how this deviant preacher actually goes about conducting an exorcism, which is wrong on so many levels that I can barely begin to articulate them over the rising disgust that is stuck in my crawl. But let me say this and be very clear in doing so. An exorcism does not involve starving the possessed, and it most certainly is not a bloody torture session.
Godless is what happens when people who have zero idea about the subject matter get it into their heads to just make it up as they go along with predictably horrifying results. And in this case, not in a good way. Maybe if they had done their research, then this idiotic film wouldn't have ended up on Tubi. If you enjoyed this, then please consider giving me a like and a follow on whatever platform you happen to be on currently. And if you have any questions, submit it the normal way or visit southerndemonology.com. Stay safe out there. Thank you for listening to Southern Demonology.
Find us online at Southern Demonology.com, which offers links to all of our social media and episodes. Southern Demonology is solely owned, produced, and edited by myself, and the intro and outro music are composed by me as well. If you have a moment, please rate, like, and share this podcast, as it is the best way to help support my work. As always, I am JJ, and it has been a pleasure to speak to you today.