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A FILM WORTH A CLOSER LOOKTHE FEATURE PRESENTATION
IF THIS ONE STAYED WITH YOU
Keep the feeling.
SIMILAR PICKS / A PERSONAL CONNECTION
01
Why this pick
Its possession case is filtered through doubt, religious procedure, and competing rational explanations, closely matching The Rite’s measured, faith-testing supernatural tension.
02
Why this pick
A grave, character-first exorcism drama where spiritual conviction and medical skepticism build sustained dread rather than relying only on shocks.
03
Why this pick
Combines a skeptical investigator with a seasoned priest, giving demonic horror a procedural rhythm and a similarly dark, urban seriousness.
04
Why this pick
This restrained Vatican-linked investigation uses an isolated religious setting, unsettling evidence, and steadily escalating uncertainty to echo The Rite’s atmosphere.
05
Why this pick
A documentary-like approach to a family’s spiritual crisis makes the rites and possession feel increasingly intimate, disturbing, and emotionally grounded.
Finding the atmosphere, tension and little details that made this one stay with you.
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01 / THE STORY
Michael Kovak (Colin O'Donoghue) is the son of a successful funeral home owner and businessman, Istvan (Rutger Hauer). Disillusioned with his past job as a mortician, Michael decides to enter a seminary school and renounce his vows upon completion, thereby getting a free college degree. Four years have passed, and Michael is being ordained to the rank of deacon at the seminary. After his ordination, he writes a letter of resignation to his superior, Father Matthew, citing a lack of faith. Father Matthew (Toby Jones), apparently wanting to talk to Michael, attempts to catch up to him on the street. He trips as he steps over a curb, causing a cyclist to swerve into the path of an oncoming van. The young cyclist, Sandra (Marija Karan), is critically injured. Seeing Michael's clerical garb, she asks him for absolution before her last breath. Initially hesitant, Michael is unable to refuse, comforting her and performing a blessing ritual to absolve her of her sins. Seeing how calmly Michael handled the situation, Father Matthew tells Michael that he is called to be a priest despite his resignation. He also tells Michael that with the rise in demonic possessions every year, the Church needs more exorcists and says that he has the potential to become one. Father Matthew decides to send him to the Vatican City in Rome, so he can attend an exorcism class taught by his friend Father Xavier (Ciarán Hinds). Michael finally accepts after Father Matthew tells him that the Church might convert his scholarship into a student loan that would cost $100,000 if his immediate resignation stood. If Michael attends the exorcism class and still wants to resign afterwards, then they will discuss matters (hinting that he may be free to leave).
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02 / FACES IN THE FRAME
Michael Kovak
Father Xavier
Istvan Kovak
Rosaria
Aunt Andria
Loop Group (voice)
Loop Group (voice)
Loop Group (voice)
