'Yeah rite' offers a refreshingly fun take on the tired trope of exorcism. It unabashedly takes its cues from the 1975 film 'The exorcist,' as most such movies do, but goes in a different direction.
The short stars Joshua Peace as a deeply skeptical atheist attorney, Stew, who has managed to be certified as an exorcist by the Vatican. Alongside fresh-faced blind clergyman Father Lewis (Toby Proctor), he is called to a home where a young woman has apparently been possessed. The comedy that ensues comes in the form of physical gags as the demon Zod demonstrates their powers while inhabiting young Jenny (Melanie Scrofano), while Stew ardently disbelieves all that transpires and professes his belief that there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for it all.
Other features have approached exorcism with a playful air, but usually it's with a juvenile buffoonery that relies on gross-out humor. The wit in Michael Penney's picture bests similar depictions, and it helps that everyone gets poked at in this. Stew doesn't think much of Jenny/Zod, and makes fun of them, but the short also includes a bit of lighthearted mockery of forthright Stew, specifically, and the "New Atheist" movement of the 2000s, generally.
I admit bias, having very recently watched and loved 'Wynonna Earp,' but I especially enjoy Melanie Scrofano here. Playing the role of a possession victim allows her to spit out lines and throw herself about with wild abandon, and Scrofano is clearly having a blast with it, especially as Zod also dispenses some ridicule. Hats off, too, to makeup artist Tamsin Smith, who gives Jenny the appearance of considerable pallor and sunken eyes during her tribulation.
It's short, it's silly, and it's fun, with the very title betraying the sardonic air about the dialogue. "Yeah rite" is an enjoyable view that's worth checking out.
The short stars Joshua Peace as a deeply skeptical atheist attorney, Stew, who has managed to be certified as an exorcist by the Vatican. Alongside fresh-faced blind clergyman Father Lewis (Toby Proctor), he is called to a home where a young woman has apparently been possessed. The comedy that ensues comes in the form of physical gags as the demon Zod demonstrates their powers while inhabiting young Jenny (Melanie Scrofano), while Stew ardently disbelieves all that transpires and professes his belief that there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for it all.
Other features have approached exorcism with a playful air, but usually it's with a juvenile buffoonery that relies on gross-out humor. The wit in Michael Penney's picture bests similar depictions, and it helps that everyone gets poked at in this. Stew doesn't think much of Jenny/Zod, and makes fun of them, but the short also includes a bit of lighthearted mockery of forthright Stew, specifically, and the "New Atheist" movement of the 2000s, generally.
I admit bias, having very recently watched and loved 'Wynonna Earp,' but I especially enjoy Melanie Scrofano here. Playing the role of a possession victim allows her to spit out lines and throw herself about with wild abandon, and Scrofano is clearly having a blast with it, especially as Zod also dispenses some ridicule. Hats off, too, to makeup artist Tamsin Smith, who gives Jenny the appearance of considerable pallor and sunken eyes during her tribulation.
It's short, it's silly, and it's fun, with the very title betraying the sardonic air about the dialogue. "Yeah rite" is an enjoyable view that's worth checking out.
