VOD Review: Asmodexia (2014)

Good exorcism films are not easy to come by; aside from the one obvious movie about exorcism that is just about perfect in every way (no, I'm not naming the movie here, because if you don't already know what I'm referring to, then shame on you!), try and name four more that are really good, just to give us an even five.

Go ahead, we'll wait.

Can't think of many really good ones, can you? We liked The Last Exorcism, and The Exorcism of Emily Rose was solid enough (although it played more like a courtroom drama than a Horror film), but other than those two, there's not much to choose from.

When we first heard about Asmodexia, we held out hope that it would be good, and that we'd finally get another decent movie to add to the already short list of quality titles dealing with the topic of exorcism.

Well, we can honestly say that even though it's got some flaws that bugged us, Asmodexia is a pretty good film about Exorcism! Woo! Just look at that short list getting bigger!

It's going to be really hard to dissect the plot of this without spoiling its reveal, so what we'll do is break it down spoiler-free (as per usual), but we'll add a little synopsis paragraph in The Good section to explain things more in-depth... because this movie gets pretty confusing, and it needs to be explained.

Eloy and Alba are a grandfather/granddaughter team of exorcists who roam the countryside of Spain, freeing the poor souls who are possessed by a nefarious being called The Evil One. The Evil One is apparently a Demon, and with "The Resurrection" only three days away, he's going around possessing more and more people. What "The Resurrection" is, we have no clue, but it sure seems like it's going to be a big thing.

HERE THEY GO AGAIN ON THEIR OWN...

The Cops are hot on Eloy & Alba's trail, because their exorcisms tend to leave people dead, and there's also a mysterious hooded figure following them, attempting to thwart their righteous deeds. Seeing as Eloy used to be a member of a Hippie Cult, we're guessing that it's them who are out to stop him, because all Hippie Cults are obviously evil, especially in Spain.

THE LORD'S WORK.

From here on out, Eloy and Alba race to finish their exorcism spree before "The Resurrection" comes to pass, but will they finish in time? We'll say no more about the plot here, although we can safely tell you that things get pretty creepy, even more crazy, and in the end, we're still not really sure what in the hell Asmodexia means, or what it is.

AS THE CREEPY CHILD ROCKED BACK AND FORTH ON HIS BACK, ASMODEXIA DREAMED OF RUNNING FREE THROUGH OPEN FIELDS.

As complex and confusing as Asmodexia was at times, we really enjoyed it. It's a pretty movie, well-shot and visually pleasing on just about all fronts; the movie's scenic locations were every bit as impressive as was its grisly imagery. In many scenes, the camera work was downright impressive.

Director Marc Carrete did a great job at giving us an exorcism tale that was different in its mechanics, making it feel both familiar and fresh at the same time. The sense of impending doom was heavy in this one, and its payoff was inspired. We like it when a familiar idea gets turned on its ass, and ends up working better for it. This one held our attention all the way through.

Asmodexia felt like a road movie at times, what with its grandfather and granddaughter team traversing the countryside, performing exorcisms together. Lluis Marco (Eloy) and Claudia Pons (Alba) had great chemistry together, and it didn't take much for us to buy into he fact that they were family.

SHE LOOKS TIRED.

There's no doubt that Asmodexia was a hard movie to digest and figure out. We think that we got most of what was going on here, and we'll try to explain the basic plot for those of you who are confused about it. Seeing as how we're still confused about it, don't yell at us if we end up being wrong in our analysis.

Read the following spoiler section at your own risk!

***SPOILERS***
So basically, Eloy is the leader of an evil cult that worships Asmodeus; a Demon who is the King of the Nine Hells. Eloy knocks up his daughter, and she gives birth to Alba, who is born dead. Alba eventually comes back to life, and having been to the "other side," she is now a "chosen one" of sorts; only she can open the gateway to hell, allowing Asmodeus and his flock to come into the world of man. The exorcisms that Eloy and Alba were performing were actually them casting an Angel (referred to as The Nazarene) out of different possessed cult members. We're guessing that the possessed looked so horrific to them because as truly evil people, seeing their own kind possessed by a being of good would look disgusting to them. It all goes back to the theme of everything having a reverse in that as evil people, they see things as an opposite of how they really are? The last shot in the movie illustrates this perfectly.

Also, Ona has been in the hospital for 15 years because she is protecting the door to hell, so that Eloy and his apostles can't open it. She has also, with the help of her son, been trapping the apostles in their homes and different places, so that they can not attend "The Resurrection." Eloy and Alba have undone all of her work to stop the cult, and at the end, Alba opens "the door" and welcomes what is presumably a Demon, into the world.

We think.
***END SPOILERS***

OH HEY THERE. COME ON IN.

I had to go back and watch the movie again to make sure I understood it correctly, and even now I'm not so sure. There's nothing straight-forward about this movie, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the plot is very complex, and it's not hard to get lost in its complexity along the way if you're not paying close attention.

Also, what in the hell was with that car crash scene? It looked so bad, that we had to rewind the movie to see it again... and it was even worse the second time. As tight as the rest of the movie is visually, this scene felt like it belonged somewhere else entirely.

SO MAYBE ASMODEXIA IS A PERSON?

We still have no clue what Asmodexia means.

IS THE BIRTHING OF AN EVIL CHILD CALLED ASMODEXIA?

Asmodexia has all kinds of gross-looking possessed people on display, a few bloody corpses, somebody gets shot, and someone even catches a blade through the mouth. It's heavy on the FX, but it's not an overly-bloody or violent movie.

No nudity here.

Nothing good ever comes of "keeping it in the family." Also, Spain is the place to go if you ever need an exorcism.

ASMODEXIA HAS BEGUN.

This is one interesting movie. It's not perfect in its mechanics, but once you wrap your head around what's going on, the payoff is pretty great. If you're looking for a solid exorcism movie with a different kind of twist, then look no further than Asmodexia. It's confusing as hell, but very enjoyable, and it's definitely worth a rent this Halloween Season.

B-

Asmodexia is available now on VOD.

Marta Belmonte and Irene Montala are possessed by sexy Demons. Demons of sexiness? Sex Demons? I don't know, they're just hot.