The Cleansing Hour (2019)

The Cleansing Hour feels like a possession movie possessed by the internet itself: a smart, nasty little pressure-cooker that takes the familiar trappings of exorcism horror and jolts them awake with a livestream premise that’s as timely as it is terrifying. Damien LeVeck commits to the concept with real craft, letting the camera’s “always on” vibe tighten the suspense while Kyle Gallner and Ryan Guzman sell the friendship, ego, and panic with performances that keep it grounded even as things go feral. It’s also funnier than you’d expect—deadpan, millennial-brand humor that makes the dread hit harder when the film twists the screws and refuses to let up. Be warned, it’s gleefully brutal and not shy about blood, profanity, or discomfort, but if you like your horror sharp, modern, and relentlessly escalating, this one earns its audience the hard way.

The Cleansing Hour wants to mash up influencer culture with a classic possession story, using the “livestream exorcism” gimmick to keep things fast, nasty, and crowd-pleasing. When it’s leaning into that ride, it’s genuinely tense and efficiently gory, with a few sharp performances that sell the escalating chaos. The problem is it still plays the hits of exorcism cinema a bit too faithfully, so if you’re craving originality or genuinely weighty themes, it can feel like it’s dressing up familiar beats and calling it commentary. If you’re here for slick, mean-spirited fun and don’t mind heavy violence, it’ll do the job; if you’re tired of demon-movie clichés or want something more thoughtful than loud, it’s probably not your night.