Exorcism movies are like the Law & Order of the horror world: The locales may change, the people may differ, but really they’re all the same.

And speaking of exorcism-based horror, it’s almost as if William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (1973) were the defining, only movie of the ilk worth considering as a serious movie, which is a problem because there’ve been plenty of movies that cover the topic (never mind that it’s more than a few decades old).

Oddly enough, that’s also one of the reasons I prefer the sequel, Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977). Sure, it’s weird as hell and can arguably be said to be closer to science fiction than horror, but there’re some really striking visuals on top of it being bold enough to take the subject matter and attempt to do something different with it (In fact, to this day it mystifies me how it was ever produced at all.)

And while I don’t expect The Seventh Day to be as unconventional, it at least appears to be doing interesting things with the material that we don’t always see.

The movie seems to revolve around a priest, Father Peter (Guy Pearce) who seems like the Catholic Church’s version of Indiana Jones, namely the guy you turn to when shit really hits the fan and your faith isn’t quite enough to carry the day.

It’s worth asking if I think The Seventh Day will be nearly as entertaining as John Boorman’s movie – keep mind he directed Excalibur (1981), Zardoz (1974) and Deliverance (1972)! The man has range to spare! – and if it weren’t already obvious, of course I don’t.

Though if it manages to engage in a few ways that approach novelty I’ll call it a victory.