Annealiese: The Exorcist Tapes (2011)

Review by David Rupp



The shocking account of history's most infamous case of demonic possession, compiled from the actual videotape and film recordings from over 76 exorcisms.
The crazy thing about this movie is that it boasts no producers, directors or actors yet it is definitely not the original "exorcist tapes" of Annealiese Michel. Annealiese was a Bavarian girl who in 1977 had undergone a series of sanctioned exorcisms, and the basis for the Exorcism of Emily Rose. This is based in fact and as you can google yourself a series of audio recordings and photographs were released. No film.
With this being said, the movie Annealiese: The Exorcist Tapes are released as a filmed documentary of the exorcisms and be battle between doctors, theologins, the parents and Annealiese. Right away you feel cheated due to the obvious digital filming, you get some 16mm filters thrown in with over dubbed scratches and lines, but none the less it has the too polished digital feel. The fact that cameras were placed in several rooms to document activity doesn't gel with the time period and the technology available.
The film in and of itself is entertaining if you take away the "authentic" label that it tries to imply. There are some good shots with genuinely creepy atmosphere. I personaly believe this would have fared better if they had just came out as a re-creation instead of trying to pass it off as the tapes. For that it hurts the review rating but as a movie it still can't save it completely.
4\10