"THE EXORCISM OF SAINT PATRICK" (2024) Somberly Wrestles With Homophobic Demons (REVIEW)
Being a marginalized person in modern society ain’t easy. Some parts of society are pushing back against progress and making mountains out of molehills because they have to start using pronouns, while the most serious cases see Queer people being harmed over their existence. The right to exist is something inalienable once we are born unless it is taken from us by another person or thing, yet so many people take issue with others choosing to live authentically. These kinds of conversations aren’t new, but as times and people change the opportunity to increase our awareness and become more inclusive is more ubiquitous. One such mechanism for change is film, and for as long as the medium has existed it has been used as a place for art of all kinds. The horror genre has often celebrated the adjacency it has with real-world issues and uses them as a template to create and induce fear, which may be the case for Cranked Up Films' newest trilogy of terror, Fresh Hell Presents from Writer / Director Quinn Armstrong. The first of the three films, “The Exorcism of Saint Patrick” uses the maligned conversion therapy process to expand upon the horrors affronted to the Queer community, but is it purposeful or exploitative?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
A pastor takes a gay teen to a cabin to perform conversion therapy. When he goes too far, bullying the kid into suicide, the ghost of his victim returns to plague the pastor and avenge the deaths of so many other ghosts like him.
HOW IS IT?
In the times we find ourselves these days, it can feel like art imitates life in the horror genre. What used to be a metaphorical canvas to air out society's dirtiest laundry has now become a reflection of the current state of affairs. Horror films used to figuratively connect the real and the imagined horrors and now have to forgo subtly on account of how much the vitriol and fervor for it has increased in our divided world. “The Exorcism of Saint Patrick” (“TESP” for short) tackles one of these topics head-on about a young boy brought into conversion therapy that ultimately leads to him taking his own life and the haunting impact that has on the pastor who made it so. “TESP” is not an easy watch and its message is impossible to miss as the horror on display is secondary to the real-life terror inflicted upon members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
“TESP” begins with a pastor (Steve Pinder) and a young boy, Trick (Michael J. Cline) heading to a conversion retreat where the pastor and Trick will stay for a week. If you’re unfamiliar with conversion therapy and what it is, we implore you to do some light research before watching so you can understand the full context. During their week together the pastor feels a lack of progress and ups the ante causing Trick to commit suicide, and the pastor is haunted by his guilt, Trick and the other children who were impacted, or all of the above. “TESP” is an intimate film taking place mostly in one location with the pastor and Trick together. Despite this metered approach, “TESP” feels bigger on account of some stunning cinematography and concise, but unnerving storytelling. Those looking for an action-packed 90 minutes will leave disappointed, but that also isn’t the point that “TESP” is trying to make. “TESP” is a horror movie, but it dabbles in horror rather than being defined by it. It uses aspects of the genre and various tropes to elevate the mood while being grounded in the very real issue of the ethics and efficacy of conversion therapy. In this way, Writer / Director Quinn Armstrong is careful to never let the horror take over and negate the intent of the story overall, even if it could use a bit more of the supernatural.
There are some challenging scenes in “TESP” that will likely unnerve some viewers, but these moments aren’t trafficking in horror as much as they are in reality. “TESP” isn’t exploiting the pain of LGBTQIA+ people so much as it is trying to create an experience that exudes empathy for what a Queer person would go through if subjected to this kind of “treatment”. What makes “TESP” stand out is that it carries the weight equally for both the topic and the terror without ever making the topic less important than the terror. That said, the finale of the film does feel somewhat underwhelming considering the lead up to it and we wish there was a bit more of a bombastic closure here despite some gnarly practical effects. Still, this is a minor issue with what is overall an important and impactful film about something that shockingly still happens today. “TESP” wisely doesn’t make everyone an awful person, and introduces a couple of characters who are essentially proxies for allies who listen to their gut at the best possible time even if it may be too late for one of our characters. Perhaps the crowning achievement of “TESP” is that it accurately presents our current state of affairs both through the narrative and characters, and reminds viewers that nothing on the screen is scarier than what is happening out there in the “real” world.
LAST RITES
“The Exorcism of Saint Patrick” presents a modern vision of “hell” that demonstrates the awful and tragic impact of conversion therapy on Queer folk, and provides some semblance of justice which is often missing in the real world. It uses horror to make a point rather than be the point and is expertly crafted with great production value and heartbreaking performances.
THE GORY DETAILS
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Where can you watch it?
The Exorcism of Saint Patrick is out NOW in select theaters and on VOD!
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