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Shot in Daylesford and Hepburn Springs, this rare Aussie take on the popular exorcism subgenre builds to a brutal finale you won’t be able to excise from your mind.
Ron has been keeping a secret from his devout community: his wife Lara has been having delirious episodes. For help, he turns to Daniel, a so-called ‘religious fixer’ – a fancy way of saying he’s an unofficial exorcist. Daniel has commodified his own cruelty and bloodlust, but so too does Ron manipulate his wife’s situation for personal gain. Is Lara really possessed, or has she been hoodwinked by those with ulterior motives? As Ron now rallies the town behind him, the faith of all involved is brought into stark question.
Australian director Nick Kozakis is perhaps best known for his ARIA Award–nominated music videos for Tones and I. Here, he makes an impressive leap to features with a work that seizes well-worn exorcism tropes and radically inverts them – an achievement aided by a sterling local cast led by newcomer Georgia Eyers and Tim Pocock (X-Men Origins: Wolverine; Dance Academy). Toxic masculinity, the dangers of zealotry and the hypocrisy of institutions that believe in the Devil much more readily than they would believe a woman come under fire in this bracing film, a thrilling example of horror that exposes the wickedness in our midst.
“Godless offers a depiction of religion where the ends always justify the means … A religious horror film where people – not monsters – are the ultimate danger.” – The Playlist
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Director Nick Kozakis will be in attendance for the screenings on Friday 11 and Friday 18 August. He will also appear in the free MIFF Talks event Something in the Water: New Australian Horror on Saturday 19 August.
