Movie Review: The Rite (Part Two: Obvious Cases)

In honor of Halloween, I am continuing my review of The Rite.  In The Rite, Michael and his classmate Angeline ask the question, how can you tell if someone is demon-possessed? What if the person is simply mentally ill?

According to Michael’s Exorcism 101 professor, symptoms of demonic possession include tremors, self-mutilation and attempted suicide. Of course, these symptoms are ambiguous in that they could also indicate physical or mental illness. Even Rosaria coughing up nails could be attributed to an eating disorder such as pica.

The movie also shows avoidance of sacred objects (crucifixes, holy water, rosary beads) as a symptom of demonic possession. Father Lucas uses such objects in his treatment sessions with patients. Nonetheless, Angeline questioned whether such fears could be delusional, rather than demonic, in origin.

According to Father Lucas, the deciding symptom of possession is psychic ability, “knowledge of the unknowable.” For example, Rosaria correctly guesses what Michael has hidden in his bag. Another patient correctly predicts the death of someone close to Michael. These abilities are not easily explained by natural means.

Yet Michael and Angeline remain skeptics. Even when Michael personally experiences visions and other supernatural phenomenon, he at first thinks he is going crazy. Ultimately, [SPOILER WARNING] it is the violently bizarre and profane behavior of Father Lucas, Michael’s mentor, that causes Michael to believe in demons -- and to believe in God.

The New Testament describes several cases of demonic possession. In one example, a father brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus. The evil spirit had robbed the boy of speech. From time to time the spirit would seize the boy and throw him to the ground, where the boy would foam at the mouth, gnash his teeth and go rigid. The spirit would also attempt to kill the boy by throwing him into fire or water (Mark 9:14-29).

Another time, Jesus met a demon-possessed man in a region known as the Gerasenes. This man lived in the tombs and had super-human strength. When people tried to chain him up, he would tear the chains apart and break the irons on his feet. He would wander the tombs and hills, crying out and cutting himself with stones. (Mark 5:1-5).

And as another example, in the book of Acts, a man possessed by an evil spirit jumped and overpowered the seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest. The one possessed man gave the seven would-be exorcists such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding (Acts 19:14-16).

Thus, the Biblical account confirms that demonic possession may include violent and self-destructive behavior. However, there is no Scriptural support for the idea that demons respond to “holy” physical objects.

We do know that evil spirits have the ability to recognize Christ and His followers, with sometimes dramatic results. For example, one demon-possessed man cried out to Jesus in the synagogue: “I know who you are – the Holy One of God!” (Mark 1:24). The Gerasene demoniac shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” (Mark 5:7). And the fortune-telling slave girl refused to stop shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” (Acts 16:17.)


In addition, while demons can surely observe what is happening in the physical realm, the Bible says little regarding their “psychic” powers. In Acts 16:16, we read that a demon-possessed slave girl was used by her masters to make money fortune-telling. However, we do not know whether her predictions were based on simple observation by the possessing demon, rather than a true knowledge of the future.

Interestingly, in each of the above New Testament cases of possession, the entire community recognized and was in agreement that evil spirits were the source of the trouble. The senseless, self-destructive and violent behavior gave them away.

Are all cases of demonic influence obvious?

More to come.

Movie Review: The Rite (Part One: Taking a Risk)

Normally I avoid movies about demon possession. I have not seen The Exorcist, and I waited until adulthood to watch Poltergeist. I will probably never see Lovely Molly, even though it was filmed by my dear brother.

You see, I believe in the existence of demons. And I remember exactly when this belief began. A couple brave (?) girls in my third grade class were experimenting with the supernatural. They claimed that, if you went in your room, turned out the lights, and recited “Bloody Mary” 20 times into the mirror, that Bloody Mary herself would come out and scratch you. I was a skeptic, so I went home and tried it. Nothing happened, thank God.

But the experience continued to creep me out for some time. After-the-fact, I decided to ask my dad about it: “There’s no such thing as demons, right, Dad? They’re just pretend, aren’t they?” My father’s response floored me. “No, Laura, they are not just pretend. The spiritual world is real. God has his angels working for him, and the devil has his demons. So demons do, actually, exist.”

This response did nothing to cure my heebie jeebies. In fact, they got worse. Some nights later, when I couldn’t take it any more, I snuck into my parent’s bedroom, and whispered, “Dad, I’m scared.” That’s when my father shared a wonderful verse with me, 1 John 4:4, “…the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

“You see,” my dad said, “when you become a Christian, the Holy Spirit lives inside you. And the Holy Spirit in you is greater than the devil who is in the world. You don’t have to be scared of the devil or his demons. Now -- go back to bed!” I did go back to bed, and prayed to God, and believed, and was comforted.

Since that time, I have tried to avoid films that feature demonic activity. I know that I can run to Jesus for safety. But the heebie jeebies take on a much darker tone when you know the evil is real. Why associate with demons casually, for entertainment?

Nonetheless, I thought The Rite might be worth a gamble.  It is PG-13, stars Sir Anthony Hopkins, and is “inspired by true events.” My husband ordered it on Netflix, so perhaps I will blame the decision on him.

The movie’s main character, Michael, is a likeable fellow. Michael’s mother died when he was young. In a macabre twist, Michael’s father runs a mortuary. To escape his father and the family business, Michael enrolls – of all places -- in Catholic seminary.

At the end of four years of study, Michael is still not certain of his faith. He decides to resign from school and not enter the priesthood after all. However, one of his professors encourages him to try one more class – Exorcism 101, taught at the Vatican. [Question: Shouldn’t the prerequisite for that class be above-average faith?] Michael decides to take the church-funded trip to Rome.

In Rome, Michael shadows a local priest/exorcist named Father Lucas, played by Anthony Hopkins. Father Lucas uses various incantations and religious objects to treat symptoms of demonic possession. At least once, when treating a young boy with nightmares, Father Lucas resorts to outright deception. According to Father Lucas, treatment can take months or years.

Rosaria, a young pregnant woman, is a particularly dramatic patient. [SPOILER WARNING] She writhes, coughs up nails, speaks profanities in languages that she never studied, and has psychic powers (“guess what is in the bag”). Michael remains skeptical; he thinks Rosaria needs a psychiatrist. Ultimately, Rosaria succumbs to her illness and dies, along with her unborn child.

Not long afterwards, Michael begins to personally experience visions and other creepy, unexplained phenomena (a dark mule with red eyes; a bedroom overflowing with frogs; a phone conversation with the dead). Even more horrible, it appears that Father Lucas is now possessed by Rosaria’s demon.

Can Michael save his friend from an evil he does not believe exists? As Father Lucas warned, "Choosing not to believe in the devil won't protect you from him."

The possession scenes are over-the-top, as you might expect from Hollywood. Yet the movie appears to take demonic influences seriously and raises several legitimate questions:

1. How can demonic influences be recognized?

2. How can demonic influences be treated?

3. How can demonic influences be avoided in the first place?

More to come.

P.S. The fact that the movie raises legitimate questions does not mean the movie is suitable for viewing by families or church groups. It is not!