Exorcist Elroy de Palma (Luis Marco) and his granddaughter Alba (Claudia Pons) travel across Spain tracking “The Evil One,” a demon that possesses the most mentally vulnerable. With only five days until The Evil One’s resurrection, Elroy and Alba must hurry to expel the demon while being followed by a detective who knows more than she lets on.
There is something off about Alba to begin with, with her pale skin and dark circles around her eyes. When a family calls upon Elroy and Alba to exorcise the demon from their young daughter, Alba is sent into the room on her own. Within minutes, it seems the child is freed and back to normal, almost as if Alba was absorbing the demon herself.
While Elroy and Alba travel and exorcise, there is a detective, Diana (Marta Belmonte) not far behind them, investigating bodies left behind and following leads given to her by her sister, a mental patient stuck inside an asylum that is gradually overrun by people becoming possessed by The Evil One.
As the story progresses, we learn that Elroy was part of a hippie religious cult that he eventually left to go out on his own. While you may think the group worshiped God or Jesus, it seems apparent that maybe this isn’t the case. The detective’s sister was part of this cult and something she saw or experienced made her insane.
Asmodexia is a creative and original take on possession and exorcism films. You could almost consider the film to be Lord of Illusions meets Constantine with a big twist and that big twist is the ending. When you think you know what is going on, you don’t and when you think you understand someone, you’re wrong. There are so many secrets throughout the movie, keeping you at an arms length from figuring out the whole movie and then there is that ending. The disturbing ending really solidifies an already solid film that forces you to think until the last second.
The colors and sets, including the abandoned and graffitied waterpark, are absolutely gorgeous-something I have come to appreciate and love about Spanish films. The time was taken to create more than just a film, but art instead. While Asmodexia may not be the most terrifying movie ever made, it is certainly beautiful to watch and creative enough to enjoy more than once.
Asmodexia is now available on DVD from IFC Midnight.
==============================================================================
Ann Hale is the horror editor for Pop-Break.com and a senior contributing writer, reviewing horror movies and television shows. She is also the American Correspondent for Lovehorror.co.uk and writer for Geekandstuff.com. Ann attended East Carolina University, majoring in English Literature. She is a collector of Halloween (the film) memorabilia and is a self-admitted opinionated horror nerd. You can follow her, her collection and her cat, Edward Kittyhands on Twitter and Instagram @Scarletjupiter
=============================================================================
Comments are closed.