🎭 Drama 💥 Thriller 💎 Gem #130 (2006)"Am I being punished?" "God doesn't punish, he tests those he loves the most. You know that. I have to see it as a trial or there is only despair left in me." "You sit there and babble on. You sit in this hole and complain how far God is from us and how godless the world has become? If prayer really gives you strength, why do you just complain? Why don't you do something?"If you’ve recently watched Anatomy of a Fall and wonder where Sandra Hüller came from, consider watching Requiem, a quiet and perceptive drama/thriller about the experience of a young epileptic woman, Michaela, who periodically hears voices and becomes convinced she may be possessed.Michaela’s religious upbringing makes the explanation of epilepsy through demonic possession plausible, and she therefore comes to believe that the cause of her epilepsy may be spiritual. Requiem is about her psychosocial experience as she attempts to navigate receiving the care and treatment and support she wants and feels she needs versus the frequent attempts at intervention, often against her will, of those who care for her and whose lives have also been disrupted.In other words, this is a film about mental illness, how it interacts with religion, the effects it has on living a fulfilling and autonomous life, and how this interacts with a family system that is already strained and with substantial unhappiness.Requiem is not a horror movie. There is no supernatural element. Nothing is played to cause fear or dread. This is a drama, pure and simple; it’s in the Slightly Hidden Horror Gems list strictly because I believe it will appeal to a similar audience. There are occasional motifs that are in common with exorcism horror.Requiem is inspired by the same true story that inspired The Exorcism of Emily Rose, which is also not a straight horror film. Something about the reality of this case resists that definition—likely, that it happened in reality makes it more difficult to take supernatural possibilities seriously. But whereas Emily Rose does attempt to cause horror, and where Scott Derrickson is talented at causing moments of genuine supernatural religious terror amidst a trial procedural, Requiem resists these genre tendencies. It is, secondarily, a tragedy. What happens is heartbreaking and nobody in the film deserves it. If you know this case, or you know Emily Rose, you’ll already know where this ends, though it isn’t shown here at all. What is hard to watch, beside how it affects Michaela, is what it does to her father. He is caught between his wife, who is severely religious and past the breaking point from fearing for her daughter for years, and Michaela's needs for a satisfying life with risks he can see his wife is unable to handle. The relationship between father and daughter is very moving, but the father is going through hell at home over his attempts to support her and not reinstitutionalize her. More complexity is introduced by her friendships, her romantic life, and the support or lack thereof of the clergy. All attempt to be there for her; nobody is able to be there for her in exactly the way she wants or needs, and it never quite takes.As she attempts to live, she makes some good choices and some terrible ones, and the film tracks the consequences. It also portrays religious hallucinations and hearing voices correctly. I work professionally in a related field and watching the portrayal of her struggle against epilepsy / schizophrenia / religious possession struck a chord. This is a relatively accurate psychological portrait. Her struggle matches reality, and that no one can seem to figure out how to care for her despite all of their best wishes is tragedy.If you want to watch a nuanced and accurate study of mental illness and religious delusions in strained family systems, this is your film. If you want to be horrified, come back to Requiem later when that’s not your mood, because you should give it a chance. It is a touching, powerful film, and one that deserves a bigger audience.Recommended.Some Lists:🎭 Drama 💥 Thriller0️⃣ 2000–2009 📆 2006💎 Slightly Hidden Horror Gems and 🌱 Candidates📽️ Viewing Next 🗂️ Index of ListsLooking for something different? Consider these:The Boy and the Heron| Deliria (Stage Fright) | La setta (The Sect) | La chiesa (The Church) | DellaMorte DellAmore (Cemetary Man) | Demoni 1 and 2 | Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person | Red Rooms | [REC] | The Sadness | Train to Busan | Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key | Sette note in nero (The Psychic) | La terza madre (The Mother of Tears) | ...E tu vivrai nel terrore! L'aldilà (The Beyond) | Black Cat: Gatto nero | All the Colors of the Dark | Tin and Tina
