It has long been difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff on Shudder, especially when their original content is concerned. I intermittently subscribe for a month or so, eventually run out of promising things to watch that I don’t already have on disc, and end my subscription again. I joined the service again recently just to watch Skinamarink, and decided to check out some other recent offerings before the month was through.
Some of the titles I sampled were sub-par, but it seems the bar is higher than it was set at previously. Among the Shudder exclusives I have previously enjoyed are Jakob’s Wife, The Son and Caveat. Now there’s 2019’s The Cleansing Hour and I will discuss its strengths and weaknesses here.
The plot concerns two friends who run a website where they stage fake exorcisms. One of them handles the technical and business side. The other plays the priest in their video series. From the second we see him, we know he thinks he’s the shit, though he’s really just a complete shit.
This fake exorcism setup provides some good gag fodder. During their broadcasts, they shill fake holy water and branded, blessed hand towels (“Vatican approved!”).
Where everything gets wobbly is when the actress to play the possessed for an imminent broadcast fails to turn up. The competent, technical guy coerces his fiancée to fill in. At first, she seems to be fully immersed in the performance. It quickly turns out she isn’t acting, but is actually possessed. Can a fake priest defeat a real demon before the broadcast is scheduled to end? If he can’t, the demon will kill the one it possesses.
It’s a good setup, but the picture uses it to mixed results. For the most part, it goes through the expected motions and uses many of the cliches of exorcist movies. Also, there are a few digital effects and a couple of creature effects are pretty good. Unfortunately, some other effects aren’t so hot, especially when digital flames engulf a staffer.
Where the movie excels is when the demon devises some innovative tortures. One set piece I don’t expect to ever see repeated elsewhere has the faux-priest forced to do the hokey pokey while naked. That’s pretty funny and weird on the surface, except he has to stick his hands into a running ceiling fan and stick his feet out into broken glass. I believe the “shake them all about” was optional.
While I watched the film, I was increasingly convinced it was partly influenced by John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness. First, there is that missing lead actress, who we learn was murdered by possessed homeless people outside the building. That reminded me of Alice Cooper leading the hordes of demonic homeless in Carpenter’s film. To a lesser extent, another apparent reference is a demon that reaches out to somebody from inside a mirror. Lastly, I also saw some correlations regarding evil forces using technology to their advantage.
And why this demon is doing what they are doing is the big mystery. It will be revealed after a couple of fake conclusions, and it is a doozy. Maybe I am slower on the uptake than most others, but I didn’t foresee where this was headed.
The Cleansing Hour is probably just above-average, but it does enough innovative things with its premise to warrant recommendation. I suspect there wouldn’t be a place for a picture like this if not for the wide market provided by streaming services. Fortunately, there are services like Shudder for movies like this to have a chance.
Dir: Damien LaVeck
Starring Ryan Guzman, Kyle Gallner, Alix Angelis
Watched on Shudder