The Exorcist Files and Early Impressions: A Television Review

Producers: GoGo Luckey, Gary Auerbach and Julie Auerbach.

Discovery Channel's "The Exorcist Files" makes huge assumptions: the devil is real and that we are in the middle of an epic war that he is waging against us. It is a battle that is being fought man against man and soul versus soul. There are only a handful of men in the world to help. They are the lay exorcists and this television series documents their true stories.

If that intro is to be believed, then humanity is screwed.

Executive producers Gary and Julie Auerbach have an interesting product, but it can be a turn off because of the heavy emphasis on religion. The Auerbachs in this show are not related to Loyd Auerbach, an author, lecturer, and frequent consultant to television networks about all things supernatural.

As for whether or not these hauntings are real, that's subject to what the viewer wants to believe. Discovery Channel is supposed to create credible documentary-style entertainment, but when the nature of the beast includes topics that not everyone agrees with, just where does the network draw the line when religious beliefs are put into the forefront? Where are the disclaimers that say that this episode does not in any way reflect the beliefs of the producers, directors and network that is deciding to broadcast it?

This television show puts forth the idea that nearly all hauntings are demonic; that is a bad start. At least Adam Blai, a member of the International Association of Exorcists and co-producer, says that there are two types of hauntings, one that is ghostly—where the once human soul lies trapped in purgatory—and the other that is demonic—out to do harm. Blai goes out solving these demonic cases, and he can perform simple cleansings. But if the big wigs, the Roman Catholic Church, are required, their involvement with this show is not going to happen.

The Vatican is very careful in their involvement with the entertainment media and they have their reasons. Quite often, to see any of their representatives is rare. To have Blai as part of this 10 episode series may be the best this show's executive producers can get.

Or they can rely on other people, like Andy Coppock, a thermodynamic physicist, to profile. He runs a bio-medical research facility that is haunted. After installing video equipment to record what is going on in his office at night, he has captured some interesting evidence.

Coppock modified his video cameras to record the ultra-violet spectrum of light, and it captured vaporous energy during the times where objects are being moved about. His story was originally profiled on Biography Channel’s “My Ghost Story.” The amount of detail given in Biography’s version is more verbose than what the "Exorcist Files" tries to explain, but neither show is willing to reveal the true name of the company he owns for verification.

And as for what Coppock's plans are for his inventions, he’s already marketing them for ghost hunters. He has decided to take up the art of paranormal investigation too. In the final segment, perhaps there is a warning as well: paranormal investigation can be dangerous. In this case, you never know what you might bring home. The church has a simple rule for those wannabe ghost hunters: don't speak to the demon.

Penny Willis' night-time hobby of going into graveyards looking for proof of the other side is more of a cautionary tale. When she decided to show some of her evidence to her grandson, just what was she thinking? Some ghost hunters have a ritual where they protect themselves prior to an investigation and cleanse themselves afterwards, just to ward off the malevolent.

This series certainly has some interesting moments to educate audiences, but its religious subtext is distracting. "The Exorcist Files" serves up dogma with a battering ram. The series is almost that painful to watch.

Source:

The Exorcist Files at Inside TV

Vatican Steps Back article at Los Angeles Times
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