’13 exorcisms’: Possessed by the devil

In January 2020, “Malasaña 32” has become one of the Spanish horror films that has managed not only to be successful at the box office, but also to break boundaries, being a hit in international markets such as Mexico or Vietnam. The group of writers formed by Ramón Campos, Gema R. Neira, Salvador S. Molina and David Orea, iconic names of Bambú, reunite again, with the addition of Teresa Fernández-Valdés and Carlos Ruanos, to try to replicate the success together with ’13 exorcisms’, a film inspired by several real cases of alleged demonic possession.

Jacobo Martínez’s first feature film, ’13 Exorcisms’ has an opening that can attract the attention of the public. A teenager, Laura Villegas, from a very religious family, attends a séance on Halloween through an oija board in an abandoned house where lived a man who killed his daughters and his wife. Strange things happen during the session and the young woman, a few days later, she begins to behave strangely, to the point that her parents think she is possessed by the devilwhich prompts him to ask the Church for permission for one of the 15 exorcists authorized by the Vatican to come to the aid of his daughter.

Really, the execution of that first part, albeit canonical, knows how to make an effect and plunges the public in full in that demonic spiral in which the protagonist feels dragged. Given that he’s in a costume designer’s painting, in a middle-class family, the way the film is performed is very reminiscent of Paco Plaza’s ‘Verónica’. And, in principle, it looks like the film will take that path, that of harnessing terror to explore deeper aspects. In the case of the Plaza film, she played the story of a girl overwhelmed by a situation that forced her to grow up too fast, such as having to take care of her little brothers, because her mother had to take care of the neighborhood bar in order to financially support the family. Martínez’s proposal appears to be a criticism of the extent to which these possessions are real and whether, indeed, the real devil here is the religious fanaticism of his relatives.

A terror proposal that has given much more

However, that gaze is buried in a story that tries to be that critical but also bets on being an archetypal horror story, heavily influenced by William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, despite his denials to the contrary. The result is a film that stands between two waters, leaving the feeling that it could have been more ambitious. Its final part also throws to the ground, the reasonable doubt whether possession is real to surrender to the most exasperated terror.

However, despite this, ’13 Exorcsisms’ has a fully dedicated cast. First of all, María Romanillos stands out like the possessed teenager. The interpreter, who also distinguished himself in ‘No mires a los ojos’ – broadcast on the same day-, has an interpretative style that, in fact, recalls that of Sandra Escacena in the aforementioned ‘Verónica’. The young woman is very well accompanied by José Sacristán, whose deep voice binds very well to that of the convinced exorcist; as well as Ruth Díaz and Urko Olazabal, as the parents of the possessed girl, who think they are acting for her good; A mention also goes to Silma López and Cristina Castaño, who embody two opposite poles of vision of what happens to the young woman.

’13 exorcisms’ were enough to become the clear successor of ‘Veronica’. However, in the end, he ends up falling prey to the fear of not being terrifying enough, of crossing clichés – full of fireworks – and making the final result dull. A production that, as happened with ‘Malasaña 32’, has good intentions but has yet to finish.

Note: 5

The best: His cast is completely delivered to the proposal.

Worse: The second part demolishes the film’s initial approach.