Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Mickey Reece
Starring: Molly Quinn, Jake Horowitz, Sean Gunn, Chris Browning, Ben Hall, Mary
Buss, Chris Sullivan
Ever since William Friedkin brought William Peter Blatty's
The Exorcist to the screen, we've been receiving knockoffs
every few years. On paper, Mickey Reece's
Agnes reads like one of several
Exorcist riffs to arrive in the past couple of years. A
young nun, the titular Agnes (Hayley McFarland), has seemingly
become possessed by a demon. A veteran exorcist and a novice priest are
teamed up to battle the demon. So far, so what?
But wait, there's more here than meets the eye. Reece may be working
with a well-worn template here, but nevertheless has managed to turn out
one of the most original and surprisingly emotional horror movies of
recent years. Reece takes an almost postmodern approach to the exorcism
movie, with characters that almost seem to know they're in an exorcism
movie. There's something of Escape from New York in how
veteran priest Father Donaghue (Ben Hall) is chosen to perform
the task. He's expendable you see, having been accused of child abuse
(the film remains daringly ambiguous regarding his guilt) and the church
higher-ups are likely hoping he'll fail and possibly die in the event,
relieving them of a thorn in their side.
Sipping from a hip flask, Hall is as sardonic as Kurt Russell's Snake
Plissken as he passes his cynicism down to the naïve and novice priest
Father Ben (Jake Horowitz). When I attended a Christian brothers
school I often surmised that many of the priests stationed there weren't
so much invested in the church as seeking a way out of the uncertainties
of the outside world, which Father Donaghue surmises is the case with
his young apprentice.
Just when we think we've gotten a handle on the sort of movie
Agnes is – a knowing satire of the exorcism sub-genre –
the movie takes a major left turn in its second half. We follow Mary (Molly Quinn), one of the possessed girl's fellow nuns and her chief confidante, as
she leaves the convent and tries to make it on the outside. Her
innocence makes her easy prey for exploitative landlords and employers,
and she ends up working back-breaking hours for seemingly little reward.
Watching Mary contend with the hardship and drudgery of just trying to
get by in the modern world, we can see why she might be tempted to make
a return to the convent with its safety and certainty, if not freedom. I
was reminded of the segment in The Shawshank Redemption in
which an elderly prisoner is released to a world he no longer
recognises, and one he no longer cares to be part of.
Agnes concludes with a conversation between two people
about the role of religion in said modern world. I won’t reveal the
conclusions they draw, but it's a fascinatingly well performed and
precisely scripted piece that could stand as a short film on its own.
It's a moment that wouldn't be out of place in a Paul Schrader movie and
I could have watched the two performers involved carry on this debate
for an entire movie's length.
Reece is a prolific indie director who has been churning out low budget
movies in recent times. Agnes is his most high profile
release to date, and it will likely propel him to command bigger
projects than he's so far been accustomed to. As a newcomer to his work,
I'm certainly curious to delve into his weighty back catalogue.
