The Devil's Doorway

The Devil's Doorway is a pretty enjoyable found footage possession movie. When going into any exorcism film you know more or less what to expect and I personally judge a good possession movie on how well it manages the expected themes and tropes associated with the genre. What I enjoyed the most about The Devil's Doorway was that it did try to change things up at least a little bit and the acting all round was pretty solid. 

The story is about two priests (a young priest and an old priest...of course) who go to investigate an asylum to observe and document the supposed miracle of a Virgin Mary statue in its church which has to begun to weep blood. 

I liked that the film is shot in 4:3 aspect ratio with a grainy weathered filter to give it the appearance of a found footage movie from the 1960's which gives it a unique feel and adds a fair amount of atmosphere. There are a few genuinely creepy scenes and while the possession stuff is nothing new it's perfectly serviceable, though pretty generic stuff. 

I enjoyed how Lalor Roddy as the elderly priest Father Riley is reticent to attribute the goings on at the church to anything supernatural, stating plainly that he knows nothing supernatural is occurring because every time he has seen a miracle its been a counterfeit. Now, there's nothing new in this sub-genre about a priest who has lost his faith dealing with the paranormal but it is done pretty well here, Lalor Roddy's acting really is the movies greatest strength.

One thing which it does add which is pretty original and I really think they could have expanded upon further was its view and depiction of the church. It is rare to see a possession movie paint the church in a negative light, usually possession films are very pro catholicism, that's sort of their whole message.

Possession films are usually a demonstration of the power of god overcoming the devil through the (usually regained) faith of the exorcist, but not this one, not one bit. The sins of the Catholic Church are brought up and thematically feature quite heavily but they're not a huge part of the story, which I feel they could have been. 

The ending was kind of a let down and reminded me too much of the films As above so below and Borderlands.If you like possession movies it's an enjoyable one but make no mistake there are far better demonic possession films out there and many, many of them. To conclude I had a good time with it but there's not enough there for it to feature on my recommendations lists.