The Cleansing Hour (2019)

Directed by: Damien LeVeck | 94 minutes | horror | Actors: Ryan Guzman, Kyle Gallner, Alix Angelis, Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Daniel Hoffmann-Gill, Emma Holzer, Joanna David, Ionut Grama, Lidy Aurora Meza, Griselda Pizena Gafis, Jury Manuel Meza, Bogdan Farcas, Tara Karsian

Expulsion of the Devil in the New Now. So: log in and enjoy an hour of unadulterated (?) devil expulsion. That’s what ‘The Cleansing Hour’ is all about. Two young entrepreneurs, Max (Ryan Guzman) and Drew (Kyle Gallner), appear to have tapped an online gold mine with this concept. ‘Father’ Max Taylor performs an exorcism/exorcism on a possessed person in each hour-long episode. Staged, but the millions of viewers, who are also enticed en masse to buy the associated merchandise (such as prayer cloths and crosses), do not know that.

When the intended new victim, a drag queen, doesn’t show up, Drew persuades his girlfriend Lane (Alix Angelis) to take his place. With her, however, the digital game with the viewers takes a completely different turn. Max and Drew have to work like mad (no pun intended…) to resist and defeat the real demon that has taken possession of Lane. That means they have to tell the truth, be honest about everything – yes, really everything, from the past to now – come out. The two get to know each other better, with all the consequences that entails, but the viewing audience also falls from one surprise to the other. Atonement before the eyes of the whole world.

Director Damien LeVeck’s ‘The Cleansing Hour’ is a longer remake of the 2016 short of the same name. Exorcism may be a bit of a chewed-up subject, but in this film it gets a surprising, very topical twist. The acting is acceptable across the board, the special effects are not ‘state of the art’, but do their thing at the right moments. There’s plenty to be scared of. Especially with the hallucinations of sound engineer Chris (Chris Lew Kum Hoi), who is attacked by a special set of demons. Add to that a terrible experience from the past (boarding school with the nuns!) and you are waiting for ‘devil’s amusement’!

Especially nice are the interludes to the viewers of the program, from the son of the American president to the Eastern police officer. Also keep watching during the credits. ‘The Cleansing Hour’ treats social media as a contemporary devil. Because, be honest, we are all addicted to this new religion…