This movie is one of the best movies I've seen recently. Strictly speaking, it cannot be classified as a certain type of film. There are horror things and elements of documentaries, from which it seems that you can feel a little taste of "The Da Vinci Code". What is the relationship between religion and the real world? This is one of the topics discussed in this film. Putting this proposition in the courtroom, a place that symbolizes modern democratic society, covers this proposition with an element similar to a grand narrative.
Religion always gives the impression of being unclear. And that's what makes so many people believe it: Mystery. Just like St. Augustine's point of view: whether God exists, you must first believe, and then prove his existence. This "faith" is the premise of knowing the world. After faith, the so-called "truth" hidden under the demagogic color on the surface of all things will be discovered.
As for the argument in this film, is Emily possessed by the devil in the end? Religion and science have each provided their own evidence. One is the speculative method and logical reasoning that have been passed down in the West for thousands of years, and the other is citing the classics, revealing the blind spots in Western psychiatry and modern civilization that have been ignored by people. At the end, it seems that the latter wins, but in fact it secretly reveals such information: in modern society, the emphasis on spirit—human subjective thinking is still in a subordinate position to science, logical thinking, and rational thinking.
As for the film's capture of the sense of reality in various shots, in my opinion, it is actually a satire of this rational thinking and of science. And use modern means to euphemistically express the spiritual supremacy's questioning of the mainstream thinking of modern society and anxiety about their own status. The reminiscence shots and the shaking of the documentary bring a kind of shocking reality, especially the scene of the exorcism ceremony in the stable, the superimposed sound effects, and the rendering of the atmosphere, which are very fascinating.
All in all, I highly recommend this movie, it won't be a waste of time to watch it.
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