I'm not a believer of Hell. Hell is a concept created by Christianity to strike fear into the faithful. I do however believe in evil, and that there are perhaps things out there that are not human that wish us ill will. But for the most part, I think evil is a human concept, brought upon ourselves by our greed, desire, and lack of compassion. The fact we need something to steer us away from our faults and explain things that were a direct cause of our own negligence or lack of compassion is, to me, evil in itself.
But what happened to this girl, Anneliese Michel (real name)? Her story is horrifying, even looking at it from a medical perspective. Was she psychotic? Was she truly epileptic? Did she suffer from several mental illnesses at once? Were her fits a direct effect from her belief in faith--people have done crazier things in the name of their religion. Or was she truly possessed by something?
In 1969, in a small town in Germany, Annelise Michel began suffering from night seizures. Her body became rigid, she couldn't speak, she complained of being unable to breathe and a great pressure on her chest. She was diagnosed with epilepsy by a clinic in Würzburg.
She was sent to a psychiatric hospital and stayed for a year, where she began seeing demonic faces during her prayers. Her stay at the hospital didn't help her condition. She became depressed. Eventually she also became frustrated with medical intervention, as the demonic faces never stopped haunting her and her symptoms never got better.
Still suffering from major seizures, she returned to school in 1970 and attended college in 1973. She was prescribed the drug Tegretol, which she took almost up until her death, when she could not eat or swallow anything.
Her depression worsened. Her frustration with medical intervention only compounded the problem. She became convinced she was possessed by demons and over time couldn't bear the sight of holy objects or sacred places.
In 1974 Pastor Ernst Alt requested to perform an exorcism. The request was rejected and the church recommended Anneliese lead a more pure and spiritual life. Meanwhile, at her house she was insulting her parents, beating on the walls with her nails, tearing down holy objects, biting people, eating bugs and eventually drinking her own piss. She refused to eat, telling everyone the demons wouldn't let her. She soon began self mutilating her self and defecating on the floor while tearing her clothes.
In 1975 the church decided to allow the exorcism. It was believed that Anneliese was possessed by several demons, of whom included Lucifer, Judas Iscariot, Nero, Cain, Hitler, and Fleischmann (more on this later). From September 1975 to July 1976 two sessions were held each week. During this time Anneliese returned to school and church.
But despite regaining a small piece of her life back, the episodes didn't cease. She would still find herself paralyzed and falling unconscious. She didn't eat for weeks, and her knees ruptures from the series of genuflections she did during her prayers.
On June 30th, 1976, Anneliese was totally emaciated, running a fever, and suffering from Pneumonia. Unable to move on her own due to exhaustion, Anneliese's parents helped her perform the motions of the exorcism. Anneliese was recorded saying to the exorcists, "Beg for Absolution." The next day she died in her sleep.
And then came the trial. Forensic evidence stated that she died of starvation. Her sister testified that Anneliese refused to go to a mental home again where she would be sedated and force fed. Psychiatric doctors claimed that the church was responsible, that because of Anneliese's strong faith, she just accepted their theory that she was possessed and that in itself only compounded pre-existing medical problems and psychosis. The defense brought tapes of the exorcism, which included the 'demons' arguing with each other. Her parents and pastor were found guilty of manslaughter and made to serve six months in prison. And easy sentence considered by many, other's thought it too harsh.
Personally, I think that everyone, from her parents to the doctors that first treated her were at fault for this poor girl's demise. Demonic possession to me smacks of religious fanaticism. Since when are people like Hitler, Nero, and Judas demons? Evil men, definitely, but demons? Perhaps I just hold too tightly to the theology that 'demons' are the fallen ones and gods of old turned out by Christianity--not just bad men who did bad things. And why would Lucifer bother himself with some unimportant girl? Doesn't he have better things to do--being the Prince of Darkness and all?
It should be noted that the drugs Anneliese was prescribed had serious side effects. Zentropil, which causes severe neurological disorders including sleeplessness and headaches. At the same time she was taking Zentorpil, she was prescribed the anti-convultant, Aolept. She began her treatments of Tegretol in 1973. This drug shouldn't be taken by women of childbearing age, as it reduces the flow of redblood cells. Also, in some cases side effects include blurred vision, sunlight sensitivity, vertigo, loss of appetite, dry mouth, and a plethora of others. Oddly enough, an autopsy report showed that Anneliese did not suffer from epilepsy. There was no evidence of if even after a microscopic brain scan.
It's obvious what she died from. Starvation, exhaustion, and illnesses her body could no longer fight off. But what killed her? Everyone who had their own agenda, right down to the church with their religious fanaticism to the doctors misdiagnosis. And Anneliese herself, with her strong faith and conviction that she was indeed, possessed by the devil.
That, my friends, is evil in my opinion. Maybe darker forces had a hand in it somewhere, but I doubt the devil was living inside this girl.
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As for the movie, I enjoyed it. I was expecting another ridiculous thriller with spinning heads and bodies contorting as they come down the stairs. Nope. Nada. A lot of screaming and some over the top scenes with Emily leaping through the windows and speaking in Aramaic, but hey, it's the movies.
I'm glad they left out the bit about Hitler and Nero, because I would've turned it off right about then. Lucifer was still there, but as ridiculous as I find the idea of him possessing some no-name Bavarian girl, it was more bearable than a bunch of wicked dead men. They also added Belial, some of you might know him by the name Baal. This raised my brows too, since some texts say he's one of the Four Big Wigs down in Hell. I find it hard to believe he'd be interested in harassing some unimportant girl, but who knows. Legion (lesser demons) was also included in the movie possession, the one aspect I found believable.
I enjoyed the court case which was peppered with flash backs. The story was well told, though it leaned more towards Emily being truly possessed. I think it would've been a better movie if it had been unbiased, leaving the conclusion up to the watcher instead. Was she really inhabited by demons or was she a epileptic driven to psychosis by her medicines and faith. Far more food for thought there than OMG big bad demons got that girls body. I just don't understand the logic. My brain keeps asking why would they want it?
The shadowy figure stalking the lawyer and priest did nothing for me. And the rattling of doors and stopping of clocks was creepy, but kind of stupid. And the old doctor getting hit by a car made me jump, then go "WTF?" How pointless. What did creep me out was when Emily was able to enter a church, clearly possessed. That bothered me. I was always under the illusion that demons couldn't stand in a house of God. If that's not true and there really are demons, there's no place we're safe from them. Kinda disturbing.
The acting was excellent. Emily was a picture of insanity. Just beautiful. The prosecuting attorney did an amazing job coming off as a condescending prick. I had issues with the Defense lawyer. She was a bit dry for my tastes.
Overall, this was a good movie. I recommend watching it if you like the court type stories. It wasn't a mystery, nor a horror flick, but somewhere in the happy middle.