‘The Exorcism of Saint Patrick’ Review
There’s an inherently unflinching attitude towards Quinn Armstrong’s depiction of conversion therapy in The Exorcism of Saint Patrick. The writer-director who crafted a strangely intoxicating mix of metanarrative and grimness with his feature debut, Survival Skills, Armstrong seems to have a knack for committing to the central thesis of his films to create an oppressive atmosphere. It’s no different with his sophomore feature, The Exorcism of Saint Patrick, the opening movie in his Fresh Hell trilogy - a triptych of horror films shot back-to-back on small budgets. Knowing that explains why Armstrong’s latest film wastes little time plunging the audience into its harsh realities instead of the gradual descent into madness that Survival Skills doled out with a more intriguing, steady hand. Here, Armstrong struggles to gain the audience’s interest in a screenplay that spends too long predictably moving through one painful sequence to the other until it finally finds its way into a final act that is more thematically rich and emotionally charged than anything leading up to it.
Taking place mainly in a cabin in rural America as evangelical parents leave their son, Patrick (Michael J. Cline), in the custody of Pastor Patrick (Steve Pinder), The Exorcism of Saint Patrick is intensely focused on power dynamics and the way authority figures pretend to be friendlier than they are. In a very telling power move, the pastor immediately takes charge and refers to Patrick as “Trick” while shortening his name to “Pat” to avoid confusion. He immediately begins changing who Patrick is. Tasked with only one objective - converting Trick from gay to straight - the pastor begins conducting a series of exercises aimed towards that singular goal. Armstrong’s screenplay is about as subtle as a hammer, but it can be clever in how it employs that bluntness. Acting more as a character study of an immoral individual parading around as a moral authority, the severity with which Armstrong paints Pat’s actions has a sickening feeling that becomes hard to shake.
Committing to the level of disgust and uncomfortableness that Armstrong wants the audience to feel against Pat is a double-edged sword. The premise alone is enough to make audiences uncomfortable with what they’re about to witness. Conversion therapy dramas have already touched on the tactics employed by Pat, and when the intent of the person manipulating the other is so clear-cut, it’s difficult to understand what the point of the film is when it’s merely reiterating a known horror of the world. It’s a double-edged sword because that directness is sometimes vital to the conversation. Conversion therapies may have been depicted in media in the past, but it doesn’t mean the practice has gone away in real life. Ultimately, that reminder appears to be the goal of highlighting it in The Exorcism of Saint Patrick.
Finding the horror in what Pat does to Trick (and others who have been sent away before him) is not difficult. Trick sees it throughout the film as ghosts of the pastor’s past appear and warn of ill deeds done to previous “patients.” Once the film leans into its screenplay's more traditional horror elements, it becomes far more visually and thematically engaging. Where the film spends most of its time in the cabin and maintains a very dark, smothering atmosphere, its eventual shift takes on new layers for Pat and the thematic intent. His harmful interactions with Trick only accentuate how evil enters good people’s lives and irreversibly damages society. Once Armstrong puts the finishing touches on the poignancy of the film in the final few minutes, it does seem to have dissected conversion therapy in a far more nuanced way than just condemning it. The problem is that it is rarely as exciting and engaging as it is in its final act, leaving its very straightforward approach feeling sterile compared to where the movie eventually ends up.
Likely due to its small budget and quick turnaround time between projects, The Exorcism of Saint Patrick doesn’t have quite the same satisfying arc as Armstrong’s previous film. As a trilogy, the movie may end up enriching one another in more interesting ways, but as a standalone film, a singular point is made very straightforwardly. The shift into a more supernatural narrative elevates the material beyond its inherently depressing, clinical approach but it’s clear that Armstrong is more engaged with dissecting the character of pastor Pat and leaves an underwhelming plot in its wake. For those looking for a feel-bad time at the movies, The Exorcism of Saint Patrick is explicitly crafted to evoke a visceral emotional response. If you can get through that without wanting to just turn the film off, there’s a slightly rewarding conclusion to be found. It just can’t be ignored how much it asks from its audience without stringing them along more effectively.
