Writer/Director Sonny Mallhi has an interesting view on exorcism films. Mainly the fact that every other horror film seems to be one, and that they never seem to end well for anyone involved in the process of “casting out” the demons.
That is why he wants to bring something new to Anguish, the story of teen girl who has been gifted with the ability to be possessed by spirits. He wants to take a more real world approach to the problem. What would it look like to everyone else in the real world? Would it be recognizable as mental illness alone? Would outsiders easily recognize the behavior as something otherworldly? And, most of all, what if her parents decided not to run for the tired old young priest/old priest solution?
Inspired at least partially by true events, Tess (Ryan Simpkins) is the teenage girl grappling with the discovery that the cause of her psychological problems might be more supernatural than chemical imbalance. And, more importantly, she must discover how and even why she should keep fighting the spirits who inhabit her.
The film premiered in July at the Fantasia International Film Festival, and Gravitas Ventures has just secured North American rights to release the film in select theaters and on demand on December 18th.
