Awaiting trial for murder, a woman accused of ritualistic acts is defended by a skeptical lawyer who tries to help showcase her powers in order to help him find his long-lost daughter, but as the trial continues and her true intentions become known he questions his judgment in taking the case.
Taken solely as a straightforward film, this has some rather enjoyable elements. One of the more worthwhile elements to this one is when the film focuses on horror which happens enough to be quite chilling at times. Starting off with the discovery of the dismembered body found in the ritualistic condition and manners offers a strong entry point that is greatly enhanced by the rather chilling sequences in the prison. Forcing the inmates in the cell with her to act in mannerisms strongly suggesting possession, from contortion and speaking in tongues to licking the cell-wall and attacking those sent in to calm them down, all of which makes for a great setup into the later half where the film provides plenty of dark rituals shown in great detail. Featuring animal sacrifice, blood rituals and dismemberment alongside tribal dancing customs and various other practices, these scenes carry quite a fine sense of darkness playing off the ritualistic actions being presented as well as offering up the quantity being showcased. The most chilling scenes that take place here are the further outbursts the possessed undergoes in her cell, shown to be visibly scratching her body and writing messages in blood which look brutal and quite graphic overall. While these help raise the film, there are a few problems. The biggest drawback is the way it plays its storyline out, since this is primarily told as a courtroom-based drama it really doesn't offer much interest for most of its running time. Sitting around listening to the two people go through the case doesn't make for a compelling watch, as not only is the technical jargon with all the different formalities and legal-speak that goes on in a trial rather boring to get through and mostly consists of watching people sitting in chairs recounting memories, a process which isn't that exciting. It's a common trope of films set in courtrooms which manages to be highlighted once again here by this one going through those motions for the majority of it's running time. That makes the flashbacks to the interactions of the witchdoctor and how she performed her rituals to feel rather disorienting and chaotic so the pacing is quite disjointed. That is what mainly holds this one back.
Rated Unrated/R: Violence and Language.
