Prey for the Devil Review

Prey for the Devil is an exorcism from the director of The Last Exorcism, and one of the writers of Halloween: H20.  With credits that, Prey for the Devil had an uphill challenge to prove itself.

Sister Ann (Jacqueline Byers) is a nun who’s transferred to a special exorcism hospital and school in Boston. She acts as a nurse and even though only priests can perform exorcisms, she sneaks into classes and does her own research. Ann also gets close to Natalie (Posy Taylor), a 10-year-old patient at the hospital, and the nun experiences a haunting relating to her childhood.

2022 has been a strong year for horror with the release of films like Scream (2022), Black Phone, and Nope. Prey for the Devil shows that the horror genre is still capable of producing generic films. Prey for the Devil was one of the blandest horror films to come out in a while.

Prey for the Devil was an exorcism film and that put it at an immediate disadvantage because The Exorcist exists. The 1973 classic set the standard for the subgenre and nothing has been able to match it since. There have been many subpar exorcist films like The Rite, The Devil Inside, and Daniel Stamm’s own Last Exorcism. Even The Exorcist franchise has fluctuated in quality.

Prey for the Devil’s unique twist was the hospital setting. In this film people were tested and treated before an exorcism could be performed. It could have been an interesting idea to explore since it could ask the question of whether people were really possessed or were suffering from a physical or mental condition. Unfortunately, this idea went nowhere. Nor did the idea of ambiguity on whether people were possessed or just sick. The film showed that possession was real early on.

Prey for the Devil stuck to a familiar path for this type of film. There were scenes in a lecture hall which was used in The Devil Inside and it was a film that had the old horror chestnut of a possessed child. Due to Ann’s gender, she had to prove herself to the church authorities so she could study exorcisms. There were some ideas that were used in other horror films. One idea that felt like it was lifted from Smile. When the film revealed a certain bit of information, I thought I can see where this is going.

It didn’t help that Prey for the Devil looked so uninspired. The direction and cinematography looked so flat that it made Prey for the Devil seem like a straight-to-Netflix film. It wasn’t worthy of a cinematic release. Prey for the Devil also faltered as a horror experience. It was a horror film that relied heavily on CGI effects and CGI is rarely scary. A moment with CGI fire was particularly bad and laughable. Prey for the Devil was a film that relied on its music as a shortcut to earn a scare. An example is when Ann discovers Natalie wandering around the hospital corridor.

There were only two effective moments of horror. The first was when Ann was looking through the achieves and sees all the terminal cases of possessions. The other involved Ann pulling something out of one of her eyes, but that was because I have a big phobia about eyeballs.

Whilst Prey for the Devil had its issues, the actors weren’t to blame. Jacqueline Byers was a likable screen presence. Her character was smart, hardworking, and willing to throw herself into action when required. She wasn’t cannon fodder. Ann also had a caring spirit which showed when she interacted with Natalie.

Prey for the Devil committed some of the worst sins that a film can make by being bland and boring. It didn’t make much of an impression and will be quickly forgotten.