Perhaps Timothy Dalton has finally found his calling - it sure WASN'T as 007!

uds3

Amazing! Whoever would have expected to see James Bond matching it with Regan's distant young cousin!

Based for the most part on Thomas Allen's book of supposedly the only bona-fide recorded exorcism ever conducted in the US, Dalton is just out of his tree as Father William Bowden, the priest who actually performed the exorcism on the young Mannheim boy.

Given a more direct and less Hollywoodesque approach, the circumstances of the boy's "affliction" (and many, having watched this will have their doubts) are presented as totally realistic. The exorcism itself is deftly handled and Dalton gives a power-house performance as the priest being torn apart by forces he can barely comprehend. He gets finally to show his considerable acting skills, uncluttered by his usual veneer of a one-dimensional and synthetic personality. (He was starting to get there in HAWKS!)

This telemovie comes highly recommended for both believers and non-believers. Both sides will get something out of this!

score /10

uds3 3 June 2002

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0643656/