Prey for the Devil Explained- Exorcism needs a Woman’s Touch

Daniel Stamm (Them, The Last Exorcism) dropped his latest project just in time for the end spooky season. All that’s really spooky about it, though, is its lack of clear direction. This movie is just shot after shot of almost saying something meaningful and almost giving us an interesting take on the possession genre. It never addresses the many juxtapositions it sets up. What’s left instead is a meandering story with only surface-level scares and generic plot points for the audience. If you need help navigating that lack of focus I got you. Here is Prey for the Devil Explained.

Psychology vs Possession 

We learn about the protagonist Sister Ann (Jacqueline Byers) through an interview with psychiatrist Dr. Peters (Virginia Madsen). Peters ostensibly serves as the symbol of skeptical science against which the warriors of the faith must contend. Of course, it is only the exorcists who see to the real afflictions of the patients in St. Michael’s. Ann admits that her mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia, though she clearly doesn’t believe in the reality of that diagnosis.

Interestingly, Ann herself hears her mother’s song and a voice speaking to her at one point. As a woman in her mid-twenties, she would be in the timeframe to experience symptoms of schizophrenia. But this path is not even remotely explored. Why even pose these questions and have Ann hear things that aren’t there if there’s not going to be any meaningful dialogue about it? (I asked myself this question a number of times during this film). 

Dr. Peters has some throwaway lines about seeing “inexplicable things” while working at St. Michaels after Ann challenges her. But 10 minutes later we see a girl literally defy the laws of physics and crawl up the side of a wall. Then an entire ghoulish hand comes out of her mouth. And it’s all literally on camera. At this point, the “skeptical psychiatrist” just looks foolish. She could be a compelling symbol of the tension between the very real history of misguided religious violence and the possibility of true demonic possession. My favorite example of this tension executed well is probably Paul Tremblay’s novel A Head Full of Ghosts. Comparing that to Prey illuminates how ineffective the film is in this regard.

There are a number of other scenes that do this exact same thing. They bring up the concept of mental illness but quickly dismiss it in service of the unquestionable reality of demonic possession. Again, if the world of the film presumed the reality of demons OR left space for ambiguity that the characters could work within, that would be different. But it didn’t, so it just kind of piddles around. 

That Catholic Guilt vs. Empowerment

Early on, the film claims that there are more possessions now than ever before, so the church must create more exorcists to help ease the problem. Ann then the film makes a revelation that through shame and guilt one may invite the possessing demon in. The film tacitly implies that there’s more guilt and shame now than there has been in the past. But it’s the very nature of the prescriptive, dogmatic system of the church that’s causing the guilt and shame, and the film just…doesn’t mention that, or lead any of the characters to deal with it in a meaningful way. 

So shame invites this particular demon in…except that it’s also targeting and following Ann specifically…but it’s also been around so long that almost every lethal case of exorcism in the Very Restricted Church Files was about this same demon and nobody noticed that. So there’s a lot going on. 

Women vs. The Church in Prey for the Devil

I was excited about the possibility of a woman performing an exorcism. Perhaps we’d see some reconciliation between a woman with power and an institution historically uncool with that. As you can probably guess, though, the film fails to bring anything significant to bear. The Catholic Church has a long history of failing women and particularly unwed pregnant women. But the film just seems to glaze over all these problems with Dante’s sister and with Ann. Both of these women dealt with unwanted, nonconsensual pregnancies. Rather than being supported through ALL POSSIBLE OPTIONS by the people in their lives, they end up with only guilt for their “failings”

Once Ann reveals her Big Teenage Mom Adoption Secret, it’s impossible not to think about maternity homes where young women suffered at the hands of the Church. Experiences for women may have improved in these facilities. But there’s no real examination of how the doctrine of the Church contributes to the very shame and guilt – especially for women – that it claims is the main cause of the possessions. 

The Not-So-Great Binary of Prey For the Devil

Ann is empathetic to the victims because she experiences shame. We’re supposed to believe the Priests just can’t understand this, which creates a strict, gross masculine/feminine binary. Ultimately, though, that has no impact on her ability to remove the demon from Dante’s sister. Indeed, the only person she is actually successful in exorcizing is herself. The Voice leaves Natalie of its own accord when Ann invites it in. Her actions on the surface seem like empowerment. The film wants us to recognize her as a talented wielder of the holy rite. But there’s just not really a lot of evidence of that. 

This scene of self-exorcism includes one image that embodies many – if not most – of the problems of the film. Ann struts into the holy dungeon having abandoned her nun’s habit for free hair and a Priest’s cassock. It’s clearly supposed to be a cool moment of lady power; Ann accepts her identity as an exorcist, plunging in to save the daughter she is so ashamed to have abandoned.

But putting on man’s clothing isn’t really the empowering move that it hopes to be. Her ability to perform an exorcism isn’t limited by her clothing. By creating this image, it seems to say that she couldn’t do this work while putting her femininity on “display”. Rather than questioning the problem of this dichotomy, the story essentially supports it. Look, the lady can only sort of do what the men can do, so we’ll give her a shot.

Whatever shame she has to confront in the final minutes over “abandoning” Natalie is also pretty toxic and misplaced. We have already learned that Ann doesn’t know who caused her pregnancy; she was so drunk at 15 that she can’t recall the events of the night. This makes her a survivor of childhood sexual assault, not an irresponsible party girl. Dr. Peters was right to give Ann the book about trauma, despite the fact that Ann scoffs at it. Y’all she needs therapy, probably not Jesus.

There’s a lot to say about how this film doesn’t stick the landing…or really any other part.