Parents' Guide to

The Seventh Day

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Dull, predictable exorcism movie has lots of blood and gore.

Movie R 2021 87 minutes
The Seventh Day Poster Image

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What's the Story?

In THE SEVENTH DAY, young Peter studies with Father Louis (Keith David) to become an exorcist. But while trying to help a demon-possessed boy, Father Louis is killed. Years later, grown-up Father Peter (Guy Pearce) is scarred by the incident -- he watched helplessly as the boy's skin burned -- but he has begun training new exorcists. He is teamed with Father Daniel (Vadhir Derbez), a promising student with no experience in the field. Father Peter gives Father Daniel a test, teaching him how to identify evil, before visiting a young boy, Charlie (Brady Jenness), who has murdered his entire family. Father Daniel establishes that Charlie is indeed possessed by a demon, but can he find the demon's secret before it's too late?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (1):

This horror movie tries to put a new spin on the old exorcism genre, and it certainly has some thoughtful moments, but the scares are mostly nonexistent, and the storytelling is all too predictable. The Seventh Day treats demon possession and exorcisms mostly in a "business as usual" way, and perhaps because of that -- or perhaps despite it -- the haunted voices, taunting demon-speak, floating objects, and other freaky stuff just seem dull. Even the movie's few jump scares don't register a blip. (What else would you expect when looking under the bed?)

The characters are slightly more interesting. Keith David starts things off well in the prologue as Father Louis, his eyes blazing and his voice commanding, but he leaves the picture far too soon. Stephen Lang is also on hand, almost unrecognizable, as a senior priest. Then Father Peter (Pearce) and Father Daniel (Derbez) have some notable conversations about the essence of their job and the nature of evil that make it seem like The Seventh Day might be going somewhere. But as the story progresses and it tries to unfold new developments, it becomes burdened by its clumsy foreshadowing, which gives everything away a little too easily.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about The Seventh Day's violence, blood, and gore. How did it make you feel? How did the fact that children were involved affect its impact? Could the story have been told with less or no violence?

  • What's the appeal of horror movies? Why do people sometimes like to be scared?

  • Is cigarette smoking glamorized here? Does Father Peter make it look cool? Are there consequences for smoking? Why does that matter?

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