Film File - The Rite

"The battle against the Devil is still being fought today, because the Devil is still alive and active in the world". So said Pope John Paul II in a comment that underlines much of what this spookily arresting film is about. Inspired by true events, the film follows seminary student Michael Kovak (Colin O'Donoghue), sent to study exorcism at the Vatican but who has his own doubts about the controversial practice and even if it applies in the modern faith. Wearing a firm front of scepticism, Kovak challenges his superiors to look to psychiatry, rather than demons, in treating the possessed. It is only when the questioning seminarian is sent to apprentice with the unorthodox Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins) - a legendary priest who has performed thousands of exorcisms - do his personal beliefs begin to crumble. As he is drawn into a troubling case that seems to even best the experienced Father Lucas's skill, he begins to glimpse a phenomenon science can't explain or control - an evil so terrifying that it forces him to question everything he believes. Exorcists and the darkness they witness first-hand have long held a cultural fascination, regardless of one's faith or background. Director Mikael Håfström attests that much of it comes from religion, but a lot also comes from popular culture, with the 1973 film, 'The Exorcist', still the most famous cinema expression about this phenomenon. All over the world, people are drawn to the subject, caught on the conundrum of 'the more you look into it, the more you see there are no easy answers'. Anthony Hopkins has previously delved into the nature of evil with his Oscar-winning embodiment of Hannibal Lecter in 'The Silence Of The Lambs'. Drogheda-born actor Colin O'Donoghue, who stars alongside Hopkins, notes that the story poses universal questions about how we deal with the unexplained. "There's the psychological argument, and there is the belief in demons and possession. And these are discussions that have been around for thousands of years. The film depicts some pretty unsettling scenarios, and the fact that it's inspired by real life makes you believe there's really something to this," he says. The original idea for 'The Rite' came from Matt Baglio, a Rome reporter who was struck by the Vatican's 2007 announcement of its initiative to reinstruct the clergy on the rite of exorcism with the goal of installing an exorcist in every diocese worldwide. An American priest, Father Gary Thomas, trained at the Regina Apostolorum Seminary in Rome to learn and become an exorcist, and his experiences informed the central character of Michael Kovak in the script. The rite of exorcism has been in effect since 1614, he says. "But many bishops and priests have no idea what to expect in an exorcism, except that it has to do with Satan," he adds. Director Håfström was intrigued by the notion of exploring the subject of exorcism with such a solid basis in fact. As the younger student follows Father Lucas into the world of exorcism, he is confronted with an unexpected evil reality that pushes him to look within and reconcile what he really believes. The film avoids many of the horror genre clichés - though it does allow a few edge-of-the-seat moments to keep everyone engaged. The film belongs to Hopkins, though, a cleric in full flight from the very first exorcism on a pregnant teenager, who turns to his sceptical student, saying: "Well, what did you expect, pea soup and spinning heads?" This snappy nod to William Freidkin's 'The Exorcist' provides one of a number of cultural references inserted into the script which will be instantly recognisable to those of a certain age. As the ageing Jesuit who has toiled all his life in trying to banish evil, Hopkins plays a perfect foil to the younger man, a role in which Irish newcomer O'Donoghue acquits himself with aplomb. 'The Rite' is not your usual schlock horror with creaky doors and twisted vocals; more a refined view of a timeless fear that can inhabit even the most modern sensibility.