Editorials
Special Feature: Exorcism Controversy
Despite huge advances in mental health science over the last couple of centuries, many in the religious community continue to believe in demonic possession. In Part 5 of our series on exorcism – in anticipation of Warner Bros. Pictures’ The Rite, releasing January 28th – B-D’s Chris Eggertsen delves into the debate between religious leaders who continue to support the practice and those in the scientific field who are intent on putting an end to it. It’s an issue that doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon – with a rise over the last few decades in the number of exorcisms being performed around the world, the controversy will surely continue well into the 21st century.
The belief in demonic possession has persisted for hundreds, if not thousands, of years in religions and cultures all across the world. It was only with the emergence of psychiatry in the 1800s that emotional disturbance was seen as having a biological basis that could be treated or cured through advances in medical science. Nevertheless, even in the 21st century a large percentage of the world’s religious population continues to believe in the possibility of possession by evil spirits.
In ancient times, people afflicted with mental or neurological illnesses were thought to be possessed by demons. The involuntary convulsions of a person suffering from epilepsy; the hallucinations, paranoia, and violent behaviors brought on by schizophrenia; and the loud, random vocal outbursts and physical tics of Tourette’s Syndrome, among other disorders, were all believed to be signs of evil forces playing upon a person’s soul. Only by performing an exorcism, it was presumed, could the person be freed from the influence of the devil.
The rise of the field of psychiatry in the late 1700s and into the the 19th and 20th centuries led to a change in popular attitudes. The research of figures such as Philippe Pinel, Benjamin Rush, Sigmund Freud, and Emil Kraepelin, among many others, suggested that it was disorders of the brain, not the influence of demons, which led to divergence in human behavior.
Despite this new school of thought, the belief in evil spirits persisted into the 20th century, with the Roman Catholic Church continuing to officially sanction exorcisms in certain cases where it was determined that a person’s mental disturbances could not be explained or treated by medical means. Of course, the very fact of the Church’s willingness to take the possibility of mental illness into account just goes to show that even the Vatican could no longer deny the overwhelming body of empirical evidence proving the existence of psychiatric disorders. Exorcism surely never went away following the establishment of psychiatry as a legitimate scientific field, but the popularity of the method nevertheless declined considerably.
And yet the practice continues to this day, not only in Catholicism – where it is still recognized as an official rite by the Church – but in other religions around the world (though not in any officially-authorized capacity). Indeed, it seems even the advent of modern psychiatric theory was incapable of stamping out the influence of centuries of religious indoctrination. As a matter of fact, a 2005 Gallup poll showed that a whopping 42% of Americans still believe in possession by the Devil.
This large number, while it may seem surprising, is indicative of a pendulum swing in religious thought that occurred around the middle of the last century. In the 1960s and early 1970s the phenomenon of “charismatic renewal” – a movement within Christianity that emphasizes a form of ecstatic worship characterized by speaking in tongues and spirit healing, among other supposed manifestations of the Holy Spirit – grew quickly in popularity, leading to an increase in the number of exorcisms performed throughout the world in what have become known as “deliverance ministries”. These ministries have become a huge point of controversy in the last few decades given that many of them charge a fee in exchange for performing an exorcism ritual (with some even televising “mass exorcisms”) and are therefore seen as profiting off their parishioners’ belief in demonic possession without offering any real benefit.
The oft-repeated claim of skeptics and those in the mental health community is that by performing the exorcism ritual for those suffering from legitimate mental illnesses in place of proper psychiatric treatment, a deliverance ministry or other religious institution is in effect harming the person by preventing him/her from seeking the help they need to correct the disorder. And while those performing the exorcism will often point to the supposedly possessed person’s own belief in their possession to justify the practice, most mental health professionals would argue that merely suggesting the possibility of demonic possession to someone in a non-rational state of mind will of course lead that person to actually believe that they have fallen under the devil’s control. They will then begin to act in a way that validates this diagnosis, by, for example, speaking in a demonic tone of voice or demonstrating an aversion toward sacred objects.
There are of course many cases in which individuals undergoing exorcisms have suffered tremendously as a result. A classic example is the famous case of Anneliese Michel (whose story was made into two different films, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Requiem), a young German Catholic woman who died of severe malnutrition and dehydration after undergoing 67 exorcism rituals in 1976. Though she had earlier in her life been diagnosed with Grand Mal epilepsy and may have also (it is now thought) been suffering from schizophrenia, Anneliese’s deeply religious parents eventually gave up on finding a medical answer for their daughter’s increasingly disturbed behavior and instead proceeded with the exorcisms that ended up resulting in her untimely death at the age of 23.
Anneliese Michel is certainly the most famous victim of an exorcism gone wrong, though she’s far from the only one – hundreds of recorded cases exist in which people thought to be possessed died after undergoing the ritual (though most were “unofficial” and not authorized by the Catholic Church or any other large-scale religious institution). In 1995, a Korean immigrant in San Francisco named Kyung-A Ha was beaten to death by members of her Pentecostal church during an intense six-hour-long exorcism. In 1993, a schizophrenic woman named Joan Vollmer in Horsham, Australia, died after undergoing an exorcism performed by her husband and several other amateur exorcists. Last July, a 4-year-old Russian boy named Dmitry Kazachuk died after being suffocated during an impromptu exorcism by shamanistic healers in his small village who believed he’d been possessed by the Devil.
Cases of exorcism fraud have also become increasingly rampant. Controversial radio and television evangelist Bob Larson, president of Bob Larson Ministries, bills himself as “the world’s foremost expert on cults, the occult, and supernatural phenomena.” However, he has been charged from many corners with defrauding thousands of people by performing paid group and individual exorcisms (he charges $500/hour for “personal deliverance” sessions), wooing them through the use of alleged hired actors who fake possession for the T.V. cameras in order to “prove” Larson’s ability to cast out demons. In 2008, senior Catholic priest Francesco Saverio Bazzoffi of Florence, Italy was accused of fraud when it was found he’d been soliciting donations from audience members at his church after performing “stage shows” in which several of his associates would pose as ordinary people suffering from possession. Police found that Fr. Bazzoffi had amassed a nearly $6 million personal fortune from these alleged fake exorcisms.
Despite a rise in hoaxes like these, the belief in demonic possession continues to persist all around the world, and in fact seems to be on the uptick. In the U.S., one in ten Catholics polled in a 2008 survey said they had either witnessed or been involved in at least one exorcism during their lifetime. There are also more exorcists operating in Italy than ever before – over 300, up from a mere 20 or so ten years ago. In 2007 Pope Benedict XVI ordered his bishops to set up “exorcism squads” to counter what he saw as a rise in Satanism. In 2005, the Vatican-linked university, Pontifical Academy Regina Apostolorum, added a new course on exorcism for both priests and theology students entitled “Exorcism and the Prayer of Liberation”.
Interestingly, even some in the mental health community count themselves as believers. In 2008, Dr. Richard E. Gallagher, a board-certified psychiatrist and Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the New York Medical College (and also, it should be noted, a religious man), documented the case of a young woman living in the United States who had requested an exorcism from her local clergy. The woman, referred to as Julia, was an ex-Catholic who had previously been involved with several satanic groups and subsequently came to believe she was possessed.
Dr. Gallagher sat in on the exorcism rituals, witnessing and documenting strange phenomena that finally convinced him the woman was suffering from an affliction that fell outside any earthly explanation. These phenomena included speaking in foreign languages unknown to her previously; acts of psychokinesis (the movement of objects without the use of physical force); and a levitation in which Gallagher witnessed the young woman hovering six inches off the ground. His account was published in the New Oxford Review, an orthodox Catholic publication.
Despite outliers like Dr. Gallagher, however, the mental health community as a whole remains skeptical – if not outright critical – of the belief in demonic possession and the exorcism rituals performed to address it. They face an uphill battle, however, as even in the 21st century the exorcism phenomenon continues unabated.
On July 13th, 2026, the world lost one of its brightest stars.
Beloved New Zealand actor Sam Neill passed away from pneumonia after a long battle with stage 3 lymphoma. The multifaceted movie star will be remembered by mainstream audiences for his iconic role as Dr. Alan Grant in Steven Spielberg’s 1993 masterpiece Jurassic Park, as well as powerful turns in A Cry in the Dark (1988), The Piano (1993), and Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), and prestige TV series The Tudors and Peaky Blinders. But horror fans know him as one of the genre’s most surprising Scream Kings.
Through a handful of memorable starring roles, Neill spent the 80s and 90s bringing life to a wide variety of characters and finding humanity in the most unusual leading roles, regardless of how heroic or villainous.
The Final Conflict (1981)
After a decade on the stage and screen in New Zealand and Australia, Neill made his international debut as Damien Thorn in Graham Baker’s The Final Conflict, the third installment of The Omen franchise. Now a 36-year-old businessman, Damien is fully aware of his devilish parentage and hell-bent on world domination. But rather than a hooved and horned monstrosity, Neill’s Antichrist is a suave businessman who leads his followers in an expensive suit and seeks to bring about the apocalypse through deceptive altruism rather than grand proclamation.
Despite his austere demeanor, the man’s true evil knows no bounds. When a prophecy foretells the second coming of Christ, known in the film as “the Nazarene,” Damien commands his followers to commit widespread infanticide, murdering all baby boys born on a specific date. He seduces a high-profile reporter while transforming her teenage son into a bloodthirsty disciple, then uses the child as a human shield. This tricky role allows Neill to demonstrate his trademark versatility, easily charming the outside world while dropping his suave mask of normalcy behind closed doors. Though certain aspects of The Final Conflict are admittedly dated, Neill’s performance feels eerily prescient. He’s mastered the heinous portrayal of a politician willing to sell his soul for power that will ultimately bring about the end of the world.
Possession (1981)
Though Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession is often remembered for Isabelle Adjani’s stunning depiction of a woman on the edge, Neill delivers an equally unhinged performance as Mark, a spy returning home from a lengthy assignment in divided Berlin. Upon discovering that his wife Anna (Adjani) wants a divorce, Mark desperately tries to hold his family together even at the expense of her sanity. Filmed the same year as The Final Conflict, Neill dives headfirst into this visceral role, managing to evoke sympathy for the distraught father who becomes ever more desperate to regain control. Inspired by his own divorce, Żuławski resists blaming either party for the separation, instead showing the chaos and heartache that comes in the wake of a family’s dissolution.
Once considered to replace Roger Moore as the next James Bond, Neill has fun with the international spy persona as Żuławski’s plot grows increasingly bizarre. But the skilled actor never lets us forget that Mark is a flawed human being struggling to keep his life from falling apart. A second character emerges in the film’s mesmerizing climax, allowing Neill to lean into full villainy with a glassy-eyed stare that chills to the bone. Now a cult classic, Adjani and Neill bounce off each other’s seething rage, creating one of the most effective cinematic duets in the history of horror.
Jurassic Park (1993)
When Steven Spielberg’s creature feature first hit theaters, Neill was by no means a household name and hardly a traditional leading man. Without the swashbuckling swagger of Harrison Ford, the mega-watt smile of Tom Cruise, or the chiselled jaw of Brad Pitt — all famous action stars of the era — Neill felt like an unconventional choice for this massive role. But he perfectly captures the essence of Grant, an aloof academic who prefers dig sites to fancy fundraisers and social events. Despite an aversion to children, the dinosaur expert finds himself tasked with saving the theme park’s youngest survivors who gradually break down his emotional walls. Grant’s transformation into a courageous caretaker is a landmark deconstruction of traditional gender norms wrapped in the guise of a rugged outdoorsman.
Neill proves to be the perfect action star, effortlessly navigating Spielberg’s stunning set pieces without losing the character’s relatable hook. But perhaps the film’s most touching moment is Neill’s childlike wonder at seeing a dinosaur for the first time. Stunned to speechlessness, he channels the audience’s wondrous joy when Grant first spies a real, live Brachiosaurus. But he seamlessly weaves this infectious awe into serious concerns about the creature’s existence, amplifying the story’s prophetic messaging. Jeff Goldblum may utter the film’s iconic warning, but the duality of Grant’s performance perfectly illustrates the scientific imperative, reminding us that just because we can doesn’t mean we should.
Neill would go on to lead Joe Johnston’s 2001 sequel Jurassic Park III, in which Grant is again tasked with saving a child. In 2022, he would appear in Colin Trevorrow’s legacy sequel Jurassic World Dominion, which merges the franchise’s two distinct eras while bringing the carnage onto mainland shores. Despite turning in strong performances, neither film is able to top the magic of Spielberg’s original or Neill’s captivating performance as the stoic leading man. But his nuanced depiction of Alan Grant inspired a generation of would-be paleontologists and quiet kids who could now see themselves as courageous academics capable of surprising strength.
In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
After catapulting to worldwide fame, Neill returned to horror proper to lead John Carpenter’s mind-bending In the Mouth of Madness. We first meet John Trent (Neill) as he’s dragged, kicking and screaming, into a padded cell. An unknown stretch of time later, he recounts an unbelievable story while covered in protective crosses scrawled into his skin — and the cell’s walls — with black crayon. A private investigator, Trent has been tasked with locating Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow), a world-famous yet elusive genre author whose work has been driving his ravenous readers to disturbing acts of random violence.
A love letter to fans of horror fiction, we delight in watching Trent explore literary easter eggs that lead him down jarring rabbit holes. A late-night road trip takes Trent and Linda Styles (Julie Carmen), an editor for Cane’s publishing house, to a tiny New England hamlet teeming with darkness. While investigating an ominous cathedral on the outskirts of town, Trent realizes that he’s somehow been transported into the author’s interdimensional story and become its unwitting protagonist.
Neill serves as a skeptical everyman and the audience’s conduit through this bizarre tale of literary monsters that find a way to burst through the page. An often overlooked Carpenter film, In the Mouth of Madness spirals into insanity, but Neill keeps us grounded throughout each outlandish twist. A shocking conclusion leaves us gaping at our screens and contemplating our own relationship with horror fiction. After all, does free will truly exist? Or, like Trent, are we merely pawns in someone else’s monstrous creation?
Event Horizon (1997)
One of the scariest movies ever set in space, Paul W.S. Anderson’s Event Horizon builds upon the heroic image Neill established for himself in Jurassic Park. Dr. William Weir (Neill) is a physicist temporarily joining the crew of the Lewis and Clark to assist in their latest rescue mission. Seven years after vanishing without a trace, a spaceship called the Event Horizon has suddenly reappeared near Neptune’s orbit. As the creator of a top-secret gravity drive designed to facilitate faster-than-light travel, Dr. Weir has been sent to explore the ship and find out what happened to its missing crew.
Still haunted by his late wife’s suicide, Dr. Weir is a sympathetic figure, particularly in comparison to the harsh Captain Miller (Laurence Fishburne) who commands the crew of the Lewis and Clark. But Weir’s desperation to return to the infamous ship hides a sinister secret that leads his fellow astronauts to the threshold of hell. Neill’s talent for playing the everyman pays off in spades as the formerly sympathetic widower transforms into a disciple of this frightening dimension. Resembling a long-lost cenobite, Weir claws out his own eyes and prepares to drag the crew into a world consumed with sadistic pain.
Daybreakers (2009)
Neill returns to his Omen roots in Michael and Peter Spierig’s action-packed film as a secretly sinister businessman. But rather than the Antichrist, Charles Bromley (Neill) is a proud vampire convinced of the species’ superiority. With human blood in short supply, Bromley Marks Corp. is working on a synthetic substitute to prevent the human race from impending extinction. While hematologists perfect the formula, Bromley oversees disturbing fields of humans chained to massive machines that systematically harvest their blood.
Neill chills in this sinister role with vampiric yellow eyes, a pale complexion, and subtle fangs. But more upsetting is the fact that he honestly doesn’t believe he’s wrong. Once diagnosed with cancer, Bromley was delighted to find that vampirism would totally reverse his illness and grant him the gift of eternal life. He begged his daughter Alison (Isabel Lucas) to turn alongside him, but she has rejected her father’s controversial choice and is now hunted by his bloodthirsty goons. In a heartbreaking moment of clarity, Bromley brings his daughter to the brink of death, then turns away in disgust when she will not embrace his undead lifestyle.
Daybreakers is a surprisingly thrilling exploration of survival and sustainability. Similar to a plot Damien Thorn would hatch, Bromley’s ultimate plan is to placate the vampire population with synthetic blood while allowing the human population to replenish itself. With a larger stock, he plans to sell authentic humans at a premium, hunting these poor souls to season the meat. Bromley rejects a cure that would reverse the vampiric disease, choosing to enrich himself over saving the world. The strangely captivating villain’s end is a cathartic nightmare and fitting punishment for a wealthy man who places himself above everyone else.
In the Mouth of Madness
While the world may remember Neill for his signature role as a gruff but compassionate paleontologist going head to head with a raging T-Rex, horror fans may picture the versatile actor maniacally rocking back and forth in a filthy Berlin apartment, commanding a boardroom of corporate vampires, disappearing into the darkness of a haunted spaceship, sermonizing to satanists, or giggling over popcorn in a deserted movie theater. Or perhaps you have another favorite role in the beloved actor’s stellar career. But whether he was playing a hero or villain, Neill brought undeniable humanity to every role, redefining our idea of masculinity and the very nature of goodness vs. evil. By bringing such disparate characters to life, Neill challenged audiences with a variety of complex roles, asking us to examine the humanity of each character no matter how flawed or virtuous.
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