Hostage to the Devil

This was not bad. I thought it was interesting mostly

I knew nothing of this man Malachi Martin when I looked into watching Hostage to the Devil but I enjoy a good exorcism story as much as the next and going into this I believed it to be a straight up movie and not actually a documentary on the gentleman's life. It wasn't actually until I came on IMDB some 20 minutes into the film to check out previous reviews of this documentary to see if this was one of those fake 'spoof' type of affairs and while I I believe this person existed now, throughout the film I still got this air of inauthenticity about it. Perhaps it was because the film was too pro-Malachi and his beliefs to establish a balanced view of the man with just one dissenter who I felt was made out to be a bitter dying man because Martin allegedly started an affair with his wife. It was an absorbing watch however and a curious look at what many 'rational' minded group of people could just have easily labelled Martin as a charismatic con artist.

This is a fascinating documentary about Father Malachi Martin, who authored the incredible book by the same name. The book was so good that I was afraid this documentary wouldn't live up to its name. But it surpassed my expectations. I loved this documentary, but please make sure to read the book as well.

Totally engrossed from the get go... if you've had any personal experience with evil. I like the quote early on about how "words don't teach, experience teaches." Applicable in all arenas of life but esp. in this one. I have had encounters with evil forces, wrestled with them, and rejected them. This was very affirming for me. Just because you haven't had experiences like these, does NOT give you the right to discount them, or sadly put down others who have had them. This is not sensationalized entertainment, it is real I tell you whether you like it or not like he said. If you haven't experienced this stuff, I'm happy for you. Not a part of your story. But for a small percentage of us it is very real

It's like one of the paranormal lay assistants said in documentary: You will either believe or not believe. All he can do is get the word out.

My review is written as a practicing Catholic who knows Church history well. The Jesuits indeed took a turn for the worse leading up to and post Vatican 2. Malachi was right to be disillusioned with the 12yrs it takes to become a Jesuit, only for it to succumb to leftist ideology and marxist indoctrination with "liberation theology". Vatican 2 opened the floodgates to all kinds of clerical and liturgical abuses. Fast forward to present day, and you know the smoke of Satan is suffocating the heirarchy.

I can't speak to his detractors like the Time magazine correspondent who had a lifelong ax to grind against Malachi. What I do know is that the seal of the priesthood is indelible, so while not living in the Jesuit community post 1965, he still has the authority to conduct exorcisms, if given approval by the local bishop.

If you are a true believer of Christ, you absolutely cannot deny the existence of Satan and the fact that people are afflicted with demonic possession. Christ exorcised many demons on this earth and he gave his disciples the authority to do so in his name to help those suffering. But at the end of the day, supernatural or preternatural (demonic) posession is still rare. The devil doesn't have to resort to those measures. It's easy enough im post modern culture to ensare others in evil activity in daily choices we make to be selfish and put ourselves instead of neighbor and God first.