REVIEW: ‘Exorcism: Live!’ fails to drum up demons:
The ST LOUIS dispatch writes the review that I failed to have time to write.. but I concur with the words of Gail Pennington:
“What you are about to witness is a live presentation that may contain graphic and disturbing scenes,” Destination America warned. “Our experts are trained professionals equipped to deal with dangerous situations. Do not attempt this at home. Viewer discretion is advised.”
The only disturbing scenes, though, were cheesy re-creations. And although some viewers, following along on Twitter, reported being frightened, any real tension was quickly diffused by repeated commercial breaks.
Members of the Tennessee Wraith Chasers team from the channel’s “Ghost Asylum,” asked how the “Exorcist” house ranked among “scariest places in America,” declared it “No. 1, especially with demonic activity. We’ve never experienced this level of demonic hopping.”
“We’ve rassled with some demons before, but this is the Devil,” one said.
But the special was all talk and no action. Viewers were asked to believe that Wraith Chasers felt the presence of evil and heard a female voice in the attic. Psychic medium Chip Coffey, who entered the house with a Ouija board for a seance, reported “fast communication” with the spirit world, and a flickering candle flame. He shut the seance down just as it might have become interesting.
There was one personal reason I stuck with the show until the end.. The priest from the ‘Old Catholic Church (not the real Catholic church, FYI) looked a lot like a friend of mine. It was a stunning replica of him, actually.
That enough held my interest. Besides that, I felt bored beyond belief.. there was nothing scary, nothing creepy, and nothing at all entertaining about the show, save a couple of strange wide-eyed one liners from Chip Coffey. Otherwise.. a failure.