If for nothing else, credit due to Nefarious for being a different kind of demonic possession film. We don’t get the inverted crosses, the projectile vomit, the bendy bodies, or anyone shouting “The Power of Elvis compels you” (or some such variant). But we also get a Trojan Horse horror show that has annoyed people for being tricked into seeing it.

The flick is about a psychiatrist who must determine if a convicted serial killer is sane enough to be executed. The villain claims to be a demon and the film evolves into a philosophical, ethical, and religious one-on-one debate.

This is a pretty well-crafted faith-based movie that, for long stretches, plays out as a fairly secular and genuine supernatural horror. It’s only during certain sequences where the veneer cracks, revealing what the film is really about. The demon sneers at concepts like inclusion, diversity, and hate speech while praising abortion as a demonic human sacrifice. But, you could charitably argue, hey… it’s a demon talking… but no, that’s the screenwriter putting their faith on the table.

As a kind of play – a dialog and actor-driven film – the flick is pretty solid. It’s well-produced and well-acted. Sometimes it’s a little long-winded and stilted… and that’s not counting the bits where it’s sermonizing.

I think it’s weirdly commendable that they didn’t make a generic faith-based film. It’s lit, acted, and feels like a genuine lower budget Hollywood horror flick. Your tolerance for its morality will determine if you can compartmentalize and find merit in the rest of the film. Maybe it doesn’t rate such consideration… but I was willing to go with it and I found this movie pretty good, even if it occasionally lost me to its blunt preachiness.

Score: 76