“You can’t X-ray what I’ve got,” screams Michaela (Sandra Huller), a devout Catholic woman in early ’70s Germany, who suffers seizures and experiences demonic visions. Diagnosed as an epileptic, the 21-year-old student flushes her medication down the sink, and believes her suffering is God’s way of testing her faith. But a young priest (Jens Harzer) decides that an exorcism is required...
Far superior to the recent possession flick The Exorcism Of Emily Rose, which was inspired by the same real-life case, this is a psychological rather than supernatural study of Michaela’s inner torment, and is particularly effective in conveying the emotionally stifling home environment of her religious parents. Grainy film stock and a dreary palette of browns and greys conjure an oppressive period atmosphere, while Huller’s screen debut is unnervingly intense.
