To Hell With You

Exorcisms aren’t a new thing in cinema. Though obviously most famously portrayed in William Friedkin’s masterpiece ‘The Exorcist’ in 1973, they have been shown on screen ever since early horror films in the silent era. In recent years there has been a bizarre revival of exorcism on the big screen, notably beginning with ‘The Conjuring’ in 2013, this has snowballed in the past few years to mixed effect with the likes of ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ and two films starring Russell Crowe - ‘The Exorcism’ and ‘The Pope’s Exorcist’. Therefore, with such proliferation of exorcism films, it is remarkable that ‘To Hell With You’ manages to feel fresh, even if it isn’t always as witty or humorous as it wants to be.

‘To Hell With You’ begins with a botched exorcism of the high-flying young student Brennan (played by Andrew Bourne), who has his promising career, and life, cut short when the priest shoots him in order to remove the demon from his body. With his mother (played by Claire Christie) collapsed on the floor out of shock and the priest nowhere to be seen, Brennan, or Brennan’s soul, is visited by a stubborn demon, called Doyle (played by Brett Brooks) and a tenacious angel, called Esme (played by Erin Ownbey) who quarrel about his fate.

It’s a little bit like ‘Good Omens’ the Neil Gaiman story recently adapted for television with Michael Sheen and David Tennant. It has that same sort of pulpy energy, with colours that are popping and a funk infused soundtrack. There are times where it is extremely witty, and where the jokes flow seamlessly, however it doesn’t quite have the heart to sustain the deeper and more personal moments.

This is a flaw in Jason Sheedy’s screenplay, which is otherwise very well written, with strong dialogue that helps all the actor’s involved give solid performances. Brett Brooks in particular is excellent as Doyle, the demon, and is perhaps the character with the most weight and emotional development over the course of the films fifteen minutes. Jason Sheedy also directs the film, and this is where his talent really comes out. Sheedy gives the film a visual style that perfectly matches the script, and enhances the film to make it stand out from a bog standard exorcism story.

‘To Hell With You’ is a fun film. It revels in its grisliness and its attempts to be anarchic. Though this doesn’t always work it nonetheless makes for a fun spectacle.