May the Devil Take You
Bright Blessings, Movie lovers.
I had the pleasure of viewing one of the scariest horror’s I’ve seen since the original Exorcist.
This is an Indonesian film called “May the Devil Take You.”
If you scare easily, run like mad, and never watch this.
If you are interested, take a look at the trailer.
If you love a good scare, and want to sleep with all the lights on- IF you can sleep…you MUST see this.
The film begins showing what appears to be an encounter with a cunning woman, but turns out to be a man named Lesmana selling the souls of his wife and daughter so he can be successful.
Fast forward many years later, and Lesmana is laid up in the hospital. His wife has died, and he is remarried to a complete you-know-what.
As he lays in hospital, his wife and her kids have no idea whether he will survive or not, so they decide to try to coerce his daughter from his first marriage, Alfie into selling the house he had in her name. Note, Alfie is estranged from her father and feels he literally ditched her in favor of the step mom and her kids.
The tension between step mother and Alfie is immediately obvious, and within a few minutes, step mom has slapped Alfie with all her might in the face.
Maya, the step sister from hell, of course jumps to mom’s defense, and while there is a younger step sister, who is a complete angel, and kindly step brother, Alfie has her hands full dealing with the heartache of her father’s negligence, and the resentment she rightfully feels towards step mom and her brood.
Maya, who is not only every bit as big of a bitch as her mother is, is also extremely stupid. Lesmana, trying to keep the devil from coming to claim souls, has locked the spirits in the basement with religious papers, and ritual tools. Maya comes in, rips it all apart, and throws open the basement door. She simply did not believe in such “superstitions.” Everybody else had been eyeing the door suspiciously before backing away…
All hell breaks loose, literally, and the demons come for everybody.
Not only is the bloody torture fest highly entertaining, and chilling, but the film imparts a lesson.
Don’t fuck with nasty spirits. EVER.
A lot of Witches and Pagans will proudly proclaim “One man’s angel is another man’s demon.” Grimoires to summon this or that demon can be bought cheaply, and supplies to do such operations can be likewise bought, or made following explicit instructions in said grimoires. The famous stories of Crowley summoning spirits abound, and many people publicly proclaim they have demons. It is plain out stupid to assume that because you bought a book, you can command spirits. Furthermore, such emphasis is put on summoning, but very little emphasis on banishing is. When was the last time you saw exorcism classes offered?
Yes, it is easy to summon. Just because you CAN does not mean you SHOULD. Getting rid of said summoned spirit might be difficult, or impossible.
Lesmana thought he had a handle on things and could cheat the devil. His whole family paid the price right along with him. Nobody was spared although some lived to tell the tale.
Sometimes a demon is a demon, meaning evil ass spirit, not something misrepresented by the Abrahamic faiths, and it is out to harm anybody it can. While they can do nice things for you, there is always a price. It is never worth it.
This film is not only scary and entertaining, and imparts a good lesson, but it contrasts those who call beliefs in spirits “superstitions”, and those who believe. The people in the film who did not believe in the power of spirits made grave mistakes, and continued to do so even after they realized spirits were real. Those who believed were immediately able to make better decisions, and made out better in the end.
Pride was portrayed as downfall, and humility a virtue. Alfie was the heroine from start to finish, and she was a shining example of self-reliance balanced perfectly with understanding of her own smallness as a simple human being.
If you decide to watch this, plan to sleep either with somebody else or your pets. Leave a nightlight on, and double-check all your locks. The sound on this was so realistic, I was cutting it off to check everything often because it sounded like the house was falling apart around me.
I mean, this movie was GOOD.
Enjoy this film.
***
About the Author:
Saoirse is a recovered Catholic. I was called to the Old Ways at age 11, but I thought I was just fascinated with folklore. At age 19, I was called again, but I thought I was just a history buff, and could not explain the soul yearnings I got when I saw images of the Standing Stones in the Motherland. At age 29, I crossed over into New Age studies, and finally Wicca a couple years later. My name is Saoirse, pronounced like (Sare) and (Shah) Gaelic for freedom. The gods I serve are Odin and Nerthus. I speak with Freyja , Norder, and Thunor as well. The Bawon has been with me since I was a small child, and Rangda has been with me since the days I was still Catholic. I received my 0 and 1 Degree in an Eclectic Wiccan tradition, and my Elder is Lord Shadow. We practice in Columbus, Ohio. I am currently focusing more on my personal growth, and working towards a Second and Third Degree with Shadow. I received a writing degree from Otterbein University back in 2000. I have written arts columns for the s Council in Westerville. I give private tarot readings and can be reached through my Facebook page Tarot with Saoirse. You can, also, join me on my Youtube Channel.