THE CLEANSING HOUR / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: DAMIEN LEVECK / SCREENPLAY: DAMIEN LEVECK, AARON HORWITZ / STARRING: RYAN GUZMAN, KYLE GALLNER, ALIX ANGELIS, CHRIS LEW KUM HOI, DANIEL HOFFMANN-GILL, EMMA HOLZER / RELEASE DATE: TBC

Hunky priest Father Max is the face and talent of an internet series that sees him exorcise demons in histrionic rituals that affirm the power of the Almighty in the face of evil. Of course, it’s all a sham, until his latest possessee doesn’t show up and his girlfriend takes their place, only to become genuinely possessed by a powerful demon who takes exception to the hypocrisy.

The Cleansing Hour has a lot to say about the perception of truth, beginning with a sequence that plays exactly like the climactic scene of any Exorcist-lite movie, only afterwards to pull back to reveal the artifice and reveal the technical wizardry at play. It’s an ingenious way to start proceedings, and instils in the viewer thoughts about how much of what can be seen can be believed. Unfortunately, it doesn’t manage to maintain such craftiness, and soon descends into a litany of demonic possession clichés.

The film has more ideas than it knows how to fully develop, muddling the story and ending up with too much going on for a single story, to the extent it becomes difficult to fully decide what point is ultimately being made. Additionally, it’s hampered by a flip-flopping tonal dissonance that leaves the film too brutal to be much fun but not stoic enough to be taken seriously.

Much of the plot hinges on the demon taking over control of the production and sending out the results into the wilds of the internet to convince people of its power. It’s one thing to show shots of people around the world who are regular viewers of the trash chaos perfectly willing to be taken in by the performance, but with people being sceptical enough of information reported on the reputable news programmes, to convince the viewer that everyone else believes that underway is a technological domination by religious entities a majority of the world don’t believe even exist requires a level of persuasion that the film simply doesn’t supply.

The demon forcing confessions of various sins that further damage the characters’ already fractious relationships is fairly standard fare, although one of them has unpleasant implications of relationship dynamics and women’s unspoken obligations towards men that have no place in such revelations. Although that said, the film does go the atypical route of having its male lead be the one forced into a position of an object of lust subjected to the perverse proclivities of a demon’s sadism, rather than the damsel in distress.

On the subject of such a thankless role, special mention must go to Alix Angelis as the possessed Lane, who gives a heartbreaking dual performance alternating between terrified cries for help in the few moments she manages to break free, and the throaty taunts of the demon forcing her to the limits of what a person can both physically and psychologically endure.

A further missed opportunity is to further elaborate on the flashbacks of Max’s childhood experiences being taught by nuns, and instead of delving into how people can be affected by the lingering echoes of abuse within strict religious educational systems, it merely acts as just a waiting piece of revelation hinted at for most of the movie.

The Cleansing Hour is mildly entertaining experience of well-trodden material, but not much more. A more balanced tone and greater exploration into its central themes would have done it wonders.