 Director: Damien LeVeck Writers: Damien LeVeck & Aaron Horwitz Starring: Ryan Guzman, Kyle Gallner, Alix Angelis Another successful "exorcism" streamed online - or so it seems. Can the "exorcist", producer and their team bring the ratings up? Ratings skyrocket, when a real demon gets involved. The Cleansing Hour takes a new approach to the exorcism/possession genre. Max (Ryan Guzman) plays the priest in a live stream reality exorcism show run by his friend Drew (Kyle Gallner). The show is a moderate success with a decent social media following and branded merchandise. Max craves celebrity and Drew just wants to grow the business by branching out into ghost hunting and other supernatural content. At their next live stream, an actor no-shows and Drew’s girlfriend Lane (Alix Angelis) reluctantly agrees to play the part and pretend to be possessed. That’s when things take a turn for the worst as we discover that Lane is really possessed and Max, the pretend priest, must face off against a real demon. It’s a brilliant twist on what we all know is a tired genre. The Exorcist has never been topped and most of the genre has been uninspired knock offs. So the original concept is much appreciated. The actors do a great job of grounding the piece in the first act, so that we’re actually invested in the characters before things amp up. Kyle Gallner in particular is the core of the piece, being the more likable foil for Guzman’s narcissistic faux priest. Ultimately, the story does lead us to a somewhat familiar conflict as Max and Drew scramble to exorcise the possessed Lane. It culminates in a nice twist, that I won’t give away. Overall, it’s definitely worth checking out, especially if you’re sick of the often stale offerings from this subgenre. (3.5 out of 5) edit.   |
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