a review of 恶魔

ℍ𝕆𝕆ℙ𝕋𝕆𝔹𝔼ℝ 𝔼𝕃𝔼𝕍𝔼ℕ ℕ𝕀𝔾ℍ𝕋 𝕋ℍ𝕀ℝ𝕋𝕐-𝕋𝕎𝕆: A pretty astounding early folk horror that feels like an massive influence on later folk and religious horror films, including THE EXORCIST and Robert Eggers' THE VVITCH. There's a whole ton of movies that have depicted small-town ignorance and religious zealotry as the real monsters, but this one really makes the most of the combination of formal Catholic spirituality and local folk superstitions, as if to ask us to really think about which traditions are truly sacred and which are demonic. Daliah Lavi's lead performance is utterly committed to the reality of a mentally-fragile person navigating a world of religious paranoia.