Considered by priests, exorcists and Catholic leaders as a film that faithfully portrays the intricacies of demonic possession, ‘Nefarious’ has been dismissed by critics. But why?
Newsroom (14/05/2024 22:58, Gaudium Press) Some time ago, I was invited to watch an underground film. The person who told me about the film and tried to convince me to watch it, gave a little spoiler, and then came to my house with a way to find the film, saved on his mobile phone. He gave me the link, and downloading it onto my computer was a snap.
I did not even think it would be worth it, since I do not like or watch horror films. A film about a man possessed by the devil is undoubtedly a horror film. But, the insistence of my nephew, who knows my tastes well and would not subject me to something that would cause discomfort, finally convinced me.
He said to me: “Uncle, it took me a while to watch this film and I only did so at the insistence of some friends, but when I saw it, the first person I thought of was you, and I am keen to watch it again, together with you, to hear your opinion.”
Let me make it clear that I agreed to watch it, but I was a little disappointed. However, out of respect for my dear nephew, who had travelled from the capital to my city to watch the film with me, I agreed.
The devil speaks through the prisoner
As the film depicts demonic possession, I sat on the sofa prepared to see twisted necks, screams, levitation and other special effects in the genre of The Exorcist.
However, I will tell you right now that if, unlike me, you are the kind of person who likes horror films, do not expect to find anything like what you see in this genre of film. The only effect – if you can call it an effect – is the slightly guttural voice of the main character when he is ‘possessed’. Chairs and other objects will not fly, the bed will not move and wardrobes will not obstruct the bedroom door.
‘Nefarious’ will not give you the sensations you expect when watching a horror film, but for a large part of the screening there are several monologues, with great lines from the prisoner sentenced to death who claims to be possessed by the devil. In fact, he does not say he is possessed, because it is the devil himself who speaks to him, referring to the condemned man as his ‘host’.
Trying to prove that the devil exists
The story revolves around psychological warfare. The prisoner and alleged possessed person is condemned to death. However, if his mental insanity is proven, he could be released from prison and then serve a life sentence. So, the question is to prove that the real culprit is the devil.
The impressive thing is to see the same thing happening today: the devil trying to erase his actions. For this reason, the condemned prisoner is subjected to a psychiatrist’s assessment in order to prove that he is ‘mad’.
It seems to the modern world that the devil is a legend, a creation of the Catholic Church to intimidate the faithful, as I have heard atheists, agnostics and even Catholics say. There’s an easy argument for this: just remind them of the surveys that show that the word ‘Satan’ appears 62 times in Sacred Scripture (27 in the Old Testament and 35 in the New) and ‘devil’ 63 times (in the New Testament). Not to mention other names such as ‘Beelzebub’, ‘adversary’, ‘Belial’, ‘devourer’, ‘destroyer’, fallen angel, etc.
So, it was not the Catholic Church that invented it, nor is it the Church that will lead people to disbelieve in the existence of evil, making it very clear that the devil exists and is not a concept: ‘Evil is not an abstraction, but designates a person, Satan, the Evil One, the Angel who opposes God. The ‘devil’ (‘diabolos’) is the one who ‘gets in the way’ of God’s plan and his ‘work of salvation’ realized in Christ.’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church – n. 2851)
There are dozens of other quotations about the real existence of the devil in the Catechism, of which I would highlight items 391 to 395.
A faithful portrayal of demonic possession
As well as having a good plot and many points that provoke reflection, the film makes real revelations about the subtlety of the devil’s work on people who give him an opening.
The film was produced by two Catholic filmmakers: Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman, and was based on the book ‘A Nefarious Plot’ by American author Steve Deace.
According to priests and exorcists, the film offers a faithful portrayal of demonic possession, unlike the horror films produced by the powerful entertainment industry and made famous in the cinema. With their caricatured and often bizarre productions, the main aim of these entertainment films is to generate fear and attract the attention of horror aficionados.
‘Nefarious’, on the other hand, is a psychological film that aims to lead the viewer to great reflections and knowledge of real facts about possession and demonic action. It portrays the raw reality of the spiritual war between good and evil, and the danger of open doors for the evil one to enter.
By Afonso Pessoa
Compiled by Sandra Chisholm
