On the day of his scheduled execution, a convicted serial killer gets a psychiatric evaluation during which he claims he is a demon and further claims that before their time is over, the psychiatrist will commit three murders of his own.
Several horror tropes are utilized in a film that deals with demonic possession:
- Typically the person possessed is an innocent
- A priest comes to help out
- Speaking in Latin and/or a demonic voice
- The possessed person has black or white eyes
And the list goes on. When a film employs these motifs successfully, the finished product can be a scary good time for audiences. “The Exorcist,” “The Exorcist III,” “The Conjuring,” and “The Conjuring 2” are all examples of demonic possession movies done right.
While these films use some of the themes mentioned above and many others, “Nefarious” goes down a different road, which I found pretty refreshing. It tells the story of Edward Wayne Brady (Sean Patrick Flanery), a notorious serial killer and death-row inmate believed to have murdered at least eleven people. Psychiatrist Dr. James Martin (Jordan Belfi) is sent to the prison to evaluate Edward to see if he is mentally ill and incompetent to be executed or sane, in which case he will be electrocuted that evening.
As James sits down opposite Edward in a large empty room, Edward immediately starts in on him, telling him personal information about him that he shouldn’t know. When James inquires how he knows so much about him, Edward says, “Because I’m a demon.” And the stage is set. For the next 97 minutes, a battle of wits begins, demon against atheist, and with time running out and Edward constantly telling James more about his personal life, things no one else knows, he gradually begins to theorize that maybe Edward really is what he says he is; a demon.
What I like about “Nefarious” is that Edward never once resorts to using the deep, growling, sinister voice we are so accustomed to hearing in movies of this ilk. He speaks ordinarily, and while the poster for the film shows Edward with white eyes, similar to Linda Blair in a scene from “The Exorcist,” his eyes never change; they are normal, and this was the best choice over the white-eyed demons we see so much of in other demonic possession films.
I liked these thematic choices because when a character is supposed to be possessed, speaks in tongues, and can levitate and make things move with their mind, it’s easier to become a believer. Because Edward does none of those things here, it takes James much longer to question his own beliefs. As Edward continues to probe James’s life, his skeptical views on religion, heaven, and hell slowly disperse as he progressively begins questioning everything he has ever expressed confidence in.
Sean Patrick Flanery is a revelation, switching between the human Edward, and the demon Nefarious, at a moment’s notice. One second, he’s spouting off about his master Satan’s fall from grace; the next, Edward manages to break through, scared and crying because of the things Nefarious made him do, pleading with James to help him. Not many actors can transition between characters so quickly, but Flanery is at the top of his A-game here. Jordan Belfi holds his own as the arrogant skeptic whose very core is shaken as his conversation with Edward proves to be more than he bargained for.
The entire film takes place in one room, a dangerous filmmaking choice as audiences can tire very quickly of a one-location movie, but writers Cary Solomon, Chuck Konzelman, and Steve Deace imbue the story with enough compelling dialog that it keeps your interest in the two central characters, as they lock horns (pun intended) and try to eradicate each other intellectually.
Now available on Blu-ray™ and DVD
