Spoilers need an old priest and a young priest.

I love thriller premises that play with ambiguity between normal and supernatural. Unfortunately, very often these films rarely stay impartial throughout. There’s always a suspicion or coincidence that ends up compromising the truth for the sake of spectacle. Books often manage to maintain the balance, but movies are visual so supernatural horror will always rear its demonic head. Let’s see where this film lands.

(Credit: Soli Deo Gloria Releasing)

Nefarious (2023) is written and directed by Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon, based on the novel by Steve Deace. Dr. James Martin (Jordan Belfi) is appointed by the court to pronounce on the sanity of notorious serial killer Edward Wayne Brady (Sean Patrick Flanery) after the last psychiatrist commits suicide. Strongly warned that Edward is a devious sociopath and master manipulator, James still believes he’s just a death row inmate that is trying to save his hide via an insanity plea. What he meets is a man claiming to be possessed by a demonic entity that calls itself Nefarious.

What follows is basically a close-knit chamber film that is basically an actor’s dream. For the most part, we get two characters, a deranged prisoner and a young doctor trying to keep his sanity, having a conversation. Edward/Nefarious is a mix tapestry of smart, hostile, articulate and knowledgeable of James’ life more than he logically should. James is pressured by the warden to pronounce the killer as sane in order to face execution the very same day, but soon he finds himself unable to tell if he’s facing a mentally disturbed man or a sane demon.

It works if you allow your sense of disbelief to play into it. Yes, there has to be at least an iota of willpower to give this premise a chance. There is no gore, there is no special effects, this is all on the actors’ performances. Sean Patrick Flanery does amazing work to portray both Edward and Nefarious with nothing but physical mannerisms and voice tones. He never goes overboard to the point of ridicule, for which I give him props. Jordan Belfi’s Dr. Martin is more straight-laced, and I hoped to see him just a little more nervous and jittery as his ordeal continues, but does half a decent job at least. Its only weak point is at some point it gives in to the urge to confirm one truth over the other, which is where it loses steam.

Highly recommended with some reservation. This a budget production where the strength is all on the actor’s performances and the audience has to be willing to be drawn in. If you’re expecting special effects, gore or jumpscares, this is the wrong feature. Worth a watch for the right audience.

That will do for now.