Parents' Guide to The Cleansing Hour

This horror film will surprise many with its decent cast, clever twist on the exorcism genre, and efficient use of practical effects. The Cleansing Hour isn't incredibly scary, but it's incredibly violent and gory, with buckets of blood. The film tries to out-gross with interesting ways of killing off characters. Amidst the chaos during the exorcism gone wrong, the demon psychologically toys with, tricks, and tortures its victims. The acting and performances are surprisingly strong and believable, especially Alix Angelis, who plays Lane, the young woman possessed. Unfortunately, she's primarily restricted to thrashing about in a chair, but she clearly seems to relish the opportunity.

The film, though, is by no means perfect. It clearly isn't saying anything beyond "social media is bad" or "people can be horrible online." The set up and twist are purely meant as simply prompts to launch creative violence, gore, and ways to kill and harm characters. Some viewers may take issue with the film's blanket criticism of the Catholic Church, physical abuse and torture of kids by a teacher, or by the extremely heavy use of strong language. But for fans of the genre, expect a fun, but definitely not perfect, creative, and bloody time.