Director: Franz Ferdinand Fleischmann.

"Devils, demons, and evil spirits. Since time began, they have stalked our souls and priests have tried to cast them out. Does evil really walk the earth or is it just inside our minds?" This introduction teases viewers about things in heaven and earth that not all mortals are meant to comprehend. In the Fifth Dimension: Exorcism, this documentary looks at the question of: is the devil truly real?

This episode takes a look at a strange case of demonic possession that happened in Germany. Anneliese Michel's medical treatment is one shrouded with controversy. Was she truly possessed by the devil or was she simply misdiagnosed? The result of the months spent in exorcising the creature(s) that lurked inside her was death. Amongst those who followed this case, there is a wide belief that she died for the sins of others.

Her dream to become a teacher fell short, and nobody suspected that her "problems" would reflect upon the rift that once existed within the Roman Catholic archdiocese. When Anneleise was being brought up in a very religious household and as her condition worsened, she would become trapped in the middle of the debate. On the pro-side, the medical community believed she suffered from grand mal epilepsy but her parents, devout Catholics, thought she was simply being possessed.

Throughout this production, the exploration of this woman's problems reveals itself to be very one-sided. There's plenty of religious fervor being explored, but the scientific discourse being revealed are merely afterthoughts. While this documentary does not say either way who is right, but to weigh in on the content is just as old school as the product. The verdict is in.

The real horror is to associate this exploration into the occult with the film, The Exorcist. While both happened in the 70's, to not include later products, namely The Exorcism of Emily Rose or Requiem, serves to distract. Also, the etymology of the words devil and demon is used colloquially – if this documentary really wanted to take itself seriously, the director and producers would have corrected for this fashion faux pas. The episode focused too much on what the “Church” believes.

This episode is merely one of several titles under the 5th Dimension label that explores the world of the paranormal. Although most documentary products have ounces of truth, this one simply misses one huge fact: the clips from Exorcist that this show uses does not make sense. Both the novel and the movie ares based on the case of Robbie Mannheim, not Anneliese Michel.

Overall: 6 out of 10.

More upcoming films from Gravitas Ventures:

Upcoming Releases Gravitas Ventures

*The Fifth Dimension: Exorcism has not been released to the public. Other titles mentioned in the review are there:



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