The recorded exorcism itself is very interesting, yet also kind of boring. I liked hearing interpretations of the psychiatrists and neuroscientists and the archbishop. The priest himself and the "possessed" woman's family members (as well as the other interview subjects who said they'd previously been possessed and freed) were less reliable sources since they had so much emotional investment, religious fervor and fear, and strict viewpoints that it didn't really leave anything open for discussion. The movie opens with the stat that 500,000 Italians a year seek out exorcism. That's a lot of people who believe they have the devil inside them, but it's also worth noting that about 75% of the country is Catholic. In other words, an exceptionally religious country is also exceptionally "possessed" ... or it might be more accurate to say that they are afraid they are possessed and more likely seek out spiritual solutions for their problems.
For the end sequence, the director resorted to a recap of a final event using creepy narration, "scary" stock footage, dark music, and stingers to try to create a scary scene, but the whole time I was just wondering why he didn't record it (since that's the whole reason he was there) while also feeling like I couldn't really take his word after watching the footage of the actual exorcism and it being nothing like this final "terrifying" event he later describes but doesn't let us view.
Bottom line. The "possessed" woman was definitely in distress, but the unanswered question is: What is the root of her distress and what is the solution? Very interesting topic, okay execution. How you feel about it will partially depend on how you feel about possession going into it.
