The Exorcism of Anna Ecklund

Lord Jesus Christ, you said unto your apostles,

"I leave you in peace. My peace I give to you."

Look not upon your sins but on the faith of your church,

and grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom,

where you live forever and ever.

- The peace of the Lord be with you always. - And also with you.

This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Happy are they who are called to his supper.

Hello, Jacob.

Father.

Thank you for coming.

Hey, I haven't seen you in church just recently. How are you?

Not good, Father. Not good.

Hm. You're very pale. Are you ill?

I'm not the one who's sick, Father.

It's Anna.

Richard, is there something troubling you?

No, no. I'm prepared for the next trip.

Very well.

You're leaving tomorrow. That will be all.

- Oh, Richard, Richard. - Ah, wonderful to see you, Theo.

And you. Come, sit down.

- It's been a while. - Mm, yes, it has.

I see you've started early.

Oh, well... my faith is strong, my will is weak.

So, what's the background to the case?

A woman, Anna Ecklund, she has been exorcised previously.

- Really? - Yes.

That's why I contacted the Vatican to ask for your assistance.

You see, it's said that... when the demon returns,

its strength is seven-fold.

Were you involved in the first exorcism?

Oh, yes. I... I've known Anna since she was a child.

She came from a good church-going family.

But, at age 14, she showed symptoms of possession.

- The symptoms have returned. - How old is she now?

Twenty-five.

Something on your mind?

Perhaps we should just discuss business, Theo. I...

I don't want to burden you with my personal issues.

Don't be silly.

Richard, it's me.

I think I've lost my faith.

I think all priests have doubts at... at some point.

I was in Ireland recently on an assignment...

and the locals, that day...

they responded so positively to a statue weeping tears of blood.

And all I wanted to do...

I just wanted to be one of those people, you know.

Floating on that cloud of absolute faith.

But instead, I just barged my way through the crowd,

determined to prove that the statue was not divine.

But you're an investigator. It's your duty to consider all possibilities.

What I saw, Theo...

Those tears were real.

Aw...

Doesn't that reinforce your faith?

No. It just-- It just brought it all back home to me. I...

I've strayed from God.

Do you, uh...

Do you want to take this case or not?

I'm too weak.

You're much stronger than you think you are.

I have to be honest, Richard.

Knowing what you're gonna have to face while you're here...

you're gonna need all the strength that you can muster.

Why did you bring her to a convent?

What better place to fight evil than in a house of God?

When Anna first arrived,

we would bring her food that had been blessed,

and she would react very violently.

When we stopped blessing the food, she ate it.

I see. Is there any way Anna could have known of this practice?

We never did it in front of her.

There's no way she'd have known the food had been blessed.

But it's a fairly safe assumption,

given where we are, don't you think, Theo?

Perhaps.

Here we are.

Do you mind if I speak with her alone?

Well, uh... of course. We'll wait out here.

Thank you.

- Anna? - The slut is in here with us.

- "Us"? - Yes. For we are many.

Have you been reading the Bible, Anna?

Perhaps you should read your bible.

Really?

Why is that?

- You speak Latin? - I speak for many.

Satan is now among us.

Repeat that.

Temptation can always be repeated.

Are you seeking to tempt me?

I don't need to tempt you. You've already tasted the forbidden fruit.

How so?

You sold your soul to the hypocrites at the Vatican.

Now, you've turned your back on the Nazarene.

Our time is now.

- Time for what, Anna? - For you to join us.

- Who is "us"? - We are Legion.

Now, join us,

and together, we can overthrow His will and rule.

If you're so powerful... why are you locked in here?

Why not just overpower everyone and leave, eh?

We've spent centuries allowing humanity to believe

they've got the better of us.

But we always rise up when they least expect it.

- I see. - You see nothing.

All you do is think of yourself, you selfish slime!

You have no love for God! You don't care for His people!

You can never challenge us when you are so godless!

Now, don't waste any more of my time, you faithless cocksucker!

Many of the nuns have reported verbal assaults.

Anna seems to know personal things about them.

These demons will try to drive the faithful out

by bringing up personal incidents about people's pasts...

and recounting personal tragedies with perverse delight.

Have you had any experience with people allegedly possessed?

No, but with Anna,

I have no doubt she has been taken over by a diabolical entity.

- Did you know Anna before she came here? - I didn't.

But Father Reisinger tells me she was a God-fearing woman.

Then should an exorcism be approved, you'd allow it to take place here?

To be honest, I'm frightened by the idea.

I believe the devil will do his uttermost to seek revenge on us

should Anna be relieved of her terrible oppression.

But I also believe God's protecting hand will not fail us.

I have given my consent.

I will not withdraw it.

Father.

Thank you.

- Your wife, Anna... - Yeah?

Has she been assessed by a medical team, Jacob?

Yeah.

And?

They can find nothing physically wrong with her.

Has your wife seen a psychiatrist yet?

Yeah.

They want to hold her for observation.

But I know what that really means, Father.

It means that they want to have her committed.

And what do you think about that?

Well, there has to be more to it than that.

I mean, this wasn't a gradual thing. It came over her so, so suddenly.

Did your wife speak any foreign languages, Jacob?

- No. - She doesn't speak Latin?

- No, why? - I just need to ask.

Tell me about Anna.

Not about her illness. About her as a person, you know?

Where do I start?

You know, Anna is the most selfless and caring person I've ever met.

She has this incredible smile. It's really something.

I could be having... I could be having the worst day,

all doom and gloom,

but one smile from her and... it's like the sun comes out.

You see, Father...

my life doesn't make any sense unless she's in it.

Do you understand?

So, please, please bring her back to me, Father.

I'm gonna try, Jacob.

Anna.

Anna, did you do this to yourself?

Anna, did you do this to yourself?

Anna, talk to me. Did you do this to yourself?

The devil is here!

Let me try.

Please, we just want to help you.

No one can help you now.

What on earth is going on?

Let me try. Help me, come on.

What?

What language is this?

It's Latin.

Do you understand what she's saying?

Yes.

What did she say?

The first was, "Fear the priest."

And the second?

She said, "Let the bitch die."

- You're destroying my garden. - I'm not.

- You are destroying my garden. - I'm not.

You're bringing all of my flowers into the house.

- They make it look beautiful. - They make the house look beautiful.

- They make the garden look-- - Are you filming us? Stop filming.

Come on, man. Stop following us around with your camera.

Look, this-- this is a message to any future children.

We used to have a garden of flowers.

We did not, no.

It's beautiful out here. It's beautiful inside.

- Come on. - I'm going inside.

Stop filming me.

Can I have a beautiful moment in our garden?

- And you just-- - A beautiful moment right here.

- You're just ruining it, man. - No, you're not.

- You're ruining it. - John, do you want to be involved?

Do you want to come and hang out with us?

You want to come into us? Come on.

I'm serious.

Come on, John, you know you want to be part of this.

Are you hungry? Are you--