The Exorcism of Saint Patrick (Fresh Hell Horror Trilogy)

The first of three titles, The Exorcism of Saint Patrick, will be triggering for some. Streaming On Demand starting with the trilogy’s first film, Quinn Armstrong is back with a horror anthology.

Three films with a connection to the sinniest of sins, conversions, Nazis, and serial killers in an ode to Hammer Horror.

If you’ve never heard of director Quinn Armstrong, that’s ok. His debut feature film was in 2020 with Survival Skills (review). It isn’t widely known despite being Mother of Movies’ best film that same year. That’s the way sometimes with indie films. The best movies are often overlooked.

Straight to the point, if a story about conversion therapy, priests, and abusive cycles of the past is not something you are keen on watching, “The Exorcism of Saint Patrick” is not the film for you. So much so that the Mother of Movies crew had to take some time to reflect on each of the stories before putting together the reviews for each title.

Aptly titled Fresh Hell, each film in the anthology nominates a reality in three different ways. Each will take you on a ride immersing you into the darkest of sinful behaviour.

The essential ingredient of many religions championed by ministers and priests is the notion that certain people have decided what types of relationships are allowed and which ones are not.

Officials of the church have interpreted some writing in an old book and decided on what it all means. Who will go to heaven is determined by a predestined verdict that resides over who loves who. Well, according to some anyway.

“Gays don’t go to heaven.”

In opening scenes, a psychedelic dreamscape sequence explodes with a tortured woman, and balaclavas pitted against background noise meant to put you off balance.

The Exorcism of Saint Patrick doesn’t go all out on exploitative violence or onscreen torture. Instead, it chooses to eke out its atmospheric dread in slowly moving dramatic scenes between Patrick and Trick. That doesn’t mean there aren’t scenes depicting cruelty. There are.

The buildup of what might have happened outside of the interactions seen between the priest and the young man flickers to the screen in a sordid bleak look into remnants of others with similar fates.

The passage of time is irrelevant in the lead-up to Trick’s suicide. Time ticks by and the viewer is never clued into whether Trick is in the cabin for days, weeks or, even months.

What does happen is a mediation whereby Priest Pat gets busy convincing Trick he needs to denounce his gay side. If he does not, he is most certainly a sinner.

What the film does well is pinpoint that not only is conversion nonsense as a therapy but, that if deemed successful, it is only the result of a lack of ability to continue to fight. If you stop fighting, the conditions will return to normal. Just like you.

Horror Triptych Fresh Hell: The Exorcism of Saint Patrick

The leads in The Exorcism of Saint Patrick played by Michael J. Cline as Trick and Steve Pinder as Pat are the perfect antidote to pull the heartstrings.

Trick is a quiet young man on the large side. His friends are mostly girls because they’re nice to him. He’s been busted texting males sexually explicit messages and his parents are told Pat will set him straight.

It epitomises the effects of societal trespasses that sadly, still exist in parts of the world. Even Australia where is it only indirectly prohibited in certain states instead of banished forever like it should be. Trick is manipulated, humiliated, tortured, and beaten throughout the short run time.

Practical effects are orchestrated by Dave Greathouse, who also worked on The Killing of a Sacred Deer and Wrong Turn. Alongside strong cinematography, everything always looks good.

The Exorcism of St Patrick is the first part in a trio of hellish scenarios with something in common. Each one of the stories feels like an imagined nightmare.

The second film in the anthology is called Wolves Against the World, followed by Dead Teenagers.

Quinn Armstrong is the sole writer for all three films, as well as, his directorial debut. As an auteur, his narrative strategies often play out as if the characters within his stories have their voice, in addition to the one he has given them. The universes he creates feel cryptic and layered.

Utilising the Cormon model of making movies, Armstong’s small budget is well thought out and shows no signs of unpolished nuances or band-aid solutions. Despite its hard-hitting themes, the casting is fantastic and, believable.

The Exorcism of Saint Patrick will make you feel raw. Watch it via the below link from Justwatch.com, from August 27th, 2024.

Wolves Against the World is streaming from 3d September 2024

Dead Teenagers is streaming from 9th September 2024.

Wolves Against the World is streaming now on Apple+ and Amazon as a rental in the UK and USA.

Where to Watch

Ready for another movie with exorcism in the title? Watch The Exorcism, The Deliverance or The Popes Exorcist next.

The Exorcism of Saint Patrick is streaming on:

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