Unfortunately, in the majority of exorcism-themed horror films, the female protagonist is either relegated to a supporting role or is the one who ends up possessed. It’s unusual for a female character to execute an exorcism in a horror film, with the exception of Vera Farmiga’s Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring films. This is not to downplay the significant roles that women play in the horror genre; rather, it serves to further distinguish Prey for the Devil from its contemporaries. A brand new making-of documentary focusing on Jacqueline Byers’ Sister Ann, the first female exorcist in seven hundred years.
Byers’ co-star Christian Navarro gives a glowing review of her performance in the featurette, praising her for “a powerful, well made, multi-dimensional performance” and calling the picture “integral” for any horror enthusiast. Jessica Malanaphy, the film’s producer, and Daniel Stamm, its director, talk about their motivations for making a movie that confronts patriarchy head-on. Stamm asks, “Does the fact that she’s a woman cancel out the fact that she’s qualified, willing, and able to do the job?” Sister Ann spends her life escaping from the supernatural, but in Prey for the Devil she finds herself lured to a greater calling. From the previews, it is evident that Ann is being tormented by a demon sent from the Devil himself.
Ann’s mother was possessed by a demon for most of her youth, and that demon has returned, enticing Ann further into the conflict between the spiritual and the material realms by hopping from soul to soul. Virginia Madsen (Candyman), Colin Salmon (Resident Evil), Nicholas Ralph (All Creatures Great and Small), Ben Cross (Star Trek), Tom Forbes (Morbius), and Velizar Binev all make cameos in Prey for the Devil with Byers and Navarro (Hitman). As the plot investigates the demon’s impact on Ann’s youth and her mother’s possession, Deborah Zecheva will also make an appearance as a younger version of Ann.
From a screenplay by Robert Zappia and a narrative by Zappia, Todd R. Jones, and Earl Richey Jones, Stamm helms this film. David Brooks, Michael P. Flannigan, Brad Kessell, and Scott Neimeyer serve as executive producers, with Malanaphy, Jones, Jones, Jeff Levine, and Paul Brooks as producers. This year, on October 28, just in time for Halloween, Prey for the Devil will be released in theatres around the country.