It’s very rare that short horror films leave me wanting more once the credits have rolled, but “The Cleansing Hour” pulls off a short but eerie tale about possession gone wrong. Damien LeVeck’s short film feels like an episode of “Tales from the Crypt” where the characters get exactly what is coming to them when they dare to dabble in the supernatural as a means of deception. Lance and Drew are two failed filmmakers that have managed to storm the web with their webcast that streams live exorcisms to the public.
Unbeknownst to the public, every exorcism is staged, and they’re very elaborate in the way they stage their exorcisms. The night of one of their big exorcisms, they prepare to rake in the hits with a hired actress who has mastered feigning her possession. As the production ensues live before a large audience, their actress begins to pull off her role a little too well. Before long Lance and Drew realize they might just be dealing with an actual demon that is intent on punishing them for their deceit and trickery against an oblivious mass.
Director Damien LeVeck ’s production is top notch from beginning to end with great pacing, a stellar sense of tension, and memorable turns from the entire cast. Director LeVeck and writer Aaron Horwitz manage to supply a lot of great twists, and jump scares. They even turn their premise around with a neat surprise ending that plays with audiences’ perceptions of what we’ve just seen and what’s in store for our characters. “The Cleansing Hour” is an absolutely bang up horror short, and I hope we see more of director LeVeck and writer Horwitz very soon.
Look for “The Cleansing Hour” when it screens at the Napa Valley Film Festival and Zamoxis Film Festival in November.