DEUS IRAE (2023)

New streaming on Screambox from Bloody Disgusting and XYZ Films!
Directed/Written by Pedro Cristiani.
Check out the trailer here!!

A disillusioned priest teams up a trio of battle weary exorcists to take on an amalgamation of the Catholic church’s Satan and Lovecraftian horror.

I’ve seen too many exorcism movies to count. Most of them are bad imitations of THE EXORCIST with very little variation. This is mainly because the rites of exorcism are very specific and unfortunately well known to the public. So while there was some gravitas when the priests screamed “The power of Christ compels you!” And all of that jazz when it was first seen in THE EXORCIST, it fails to entertain upon repeated attempts.

Argentina’s new exorcist outing, DEUS IRAE seems to know this and instead of simply relying on Catholic lore, they’ve added Cthulhu into the mix and it makes things feel a whole lot fresher. While it is a little tweak, this shift in perspective makes the film much more immersive as, arguably, in certain horror circles, the Lovecraft mythos is as vast and detailed as some religions. So popping in some Yog Sothoth and the occasional Cthulhu bomb here and there and add some tentacles and there you go, your typical exorcism film about a jaded priest looking for redemption feels energized and imaginative.

But that’s not the only thing that makes this movie so exciting. The vivid cinematography and sheer creativity behind tearing a body apart is what makes DEUS IRAE such a standout. Fingernails flip backwards on their own. Blood is strewn around like a lawn sprinkler on full blast. You will see things in DEUS IRAE that you’ve never seen before in an exorcism movie. And by utilizing slo mo and detailed closeups, director Pedro Christiani, this has to be one of the most beautifully disgusting horror films you will witness. It’s simply and brutally carnage-a-licious!

Now, there are a few things that make this one less than perfect. Mainly, there are time shifts and glimpses into characters’ minds that prove to be distracting at best, and utterly confusing at the worst. Characters burst into maniacal laughter for no reason and when laughter is the furthest reaction that is appropriate. Yes, this may be indicative of the process of these exorcisms takes its toll on these priests and these are glimpses of their sanity slipping. I get that. But the fact that almost every character has a moment where they maniacally laugh in slo mo feels repetitive and lacking in originality. It makes it much more difficult to understand what’s going on in these gruesome scenes.

DEUS IRAE is unlike any possession horror you’re bound to see. It is highly stylized, kind of like the Zach Snyder’s 300 of exorcism movies. Some might mistake this for lack of substance, but I feel there’s a whole lot to appreciate from the ornate costuming of the battle priests to the blasphemous desecration of religious iconography and the human body. There’s a whole lot of the grungy, the gory, and the grotesque with this one. Religious folk, beware. This one’s not for you. For the rest of you heathens, check out DEUS IRAE!

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Music Written by Tim Heidecker
Music & Arrangement by Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy https://youtu.be/PDySbxQgZMg
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