Movie Review: Prey For The Devil

BY: JENNA HUBBS

NOVEMBER 15, 2022

Prey for the Devil is a movie set in the Catholic Church, following Sister Ann as she tries to answer her calling to be the first female exorcist.

With leading actresses Jacqueline Byers as Sister Ann, Virginia Madsen as Dr. Peters, and actor Christian Navarro as Father Dante, the film has a well constructed cast that portrays their roles very well. Director Daniel Stamm produced the film with minimal advertising. Released October 28, 2022, it earned $7,185,126 in the U.S. on opening weekend alone.

 I watched Prey for the Devil shortly following its release. Like most people, or at least I’d like to think so, I get distracted easily during movies; my phone will buzz or the lights will reflect off my watch or the middle-aged mom five rows down will chew her popcorn too loudly. With the run time of one hour and 33 minutes, this movie lost my full attention a couple of times but I was also intrigued. I don’t really get frightened during horror/suspenseful movies and this scenario was no different. I jumped at the jump scares but that was the extent of my feelings toward that. 

My overall experience of watching Prey for the Devil was a good one. The acting was well done and the actors all fit their roles very well, making the whole movie flow so much easier. The jump scares were good; they came at times in which I was unsuspecting and it made it more enjoyable. The subplots weren’t entirely different from things we have seen before but the main plot however, was something brand new. It was a nice change of pace compared to all other nun movies. I would personally classify this movie as “okay.” It didn’t have me wrapped around its finger or on the edge of my seat.

Was it good? Yes, however, the plot twists were easily anticipated. The movie has a 5.2/10 rating on IMDb and a 38 Metascore. I personally feel like these two ratings are particularly harsh. The movie wasn’t that bad but it didn’t come close to touching my list of favorites.