Hands down the funniest horror comedy of the 18th Edition of Dances with Films. Kyle Steinbach's "Bad Exorcist" is as goofy as it is awkwardly funny. The characters, a trio of teens who set out to make a horror film to impress their fellow classmates accidentally wind up getting their actress possessed during the shoot. Dana (Julian Master), Charlie (Sean Roney) & Matt (Alex Knapp) make up the trio. In their attempt to prove their coolness, they end up getting involved way over their head in attempting to practice from a stolen book of exorcisms for a film project meant to compete in the local reel horror film festival. However, one dumb decision after another force all three to come to grips with the fact that they actually did turn their actress into a possessed victim of the book. The attempts at fixing the problem is were hilarity ensues to stomach aching laughter.
The comedic timing of the main actors along with the visuals and sounds designs are right on target. Dana's obliviousness is especially perplexing for he seem the most clueless of the three, yet he's the one that will ignite the laughter mostly because of his response to the proceedings as they turn scary because of them messing with forces beyond their comprehension. The style of the film has a very vintage feel to it as so does the writing and evolution of the story.
As I watched, I could not help but to think of other eighty's favorites such as "Porky's" meets "Revenge of the Nerds" and the "Exorcist" as relevant films which may have influence the creation of this film. Whether or not that may be the case, this film stands very much on its own due to its fresh approach and originality in tackling two distinct genres that are hard to nail. Bad Exorcist simultaneously elicits from chuckles, to laugh out loud reactions, to jump scares. Few films succeed with engaging the audience with non stop laughter the way "Bad Exorcist" did, during its world premiere at Dances with Films, with some very funny and engaging results.
