Hostage To The Devil Analysis

Documentaries are a great way to be informed, entertained, and persuade a call to action without forcing the viewer to form a particular conclusion if a case is to be made a documentary should show both sides of the issue so that the viewer can get an enhanced understanding of the subject. Hostage to the Devil is a very complex and captivating documentary about Dr. Malachi Martin who was described as a tantalizing man a former Jesuit Priest who was released from two of the three vows that they take when entering the priesthood. After his release, he moved to New York City from Rome and became a well-known Author, and he began to perform exorcisms which caused a lot of controversy in the United States and among his fellow colleagues in Rome.

Malachi Martin and various other interviews from individuals involved with the documentary, their opinions range from extremely positive to negative and even with some interesting clips that get the viewer intrigued before the documentary has even begun. The background goes on a tour of what looks like a very dark and eerie house with the sounds of demonic moans and groans along with voice interviews as well as video interviews. A scene of a library which contains religious figurines, an old antenna television, dusty bookshelves, and a cluttered desk that has many papers on and books open on the top. This particular view is used many times during the documentary as a transition into other interviews and or topics that are being discussed. Eventually, it fades out to a very foggy white screen with the title written in a fuzzy times new roman font which seems to have television static going through it almost playing an optical illusion on the viewer. This opening sequence sets the tone for the rest of the documentary by leaving the viewer with many questions and also preparing them for the disturbing real exorcism clips, interviews, and story behind this mysterious

Malachi Martin portrayed himself in television interviews, radio interviews, and in his books at the time. An example would be when the very popular movie The Exorcist came into theaters many of his interviews were centered around this film and what he experienced as an exorcist. Most of these interviews were spent discrediting the many movies and books that were fictitious matters about his line of work. While in one point of view he seems to be defending his profession and telling people the real truth of the church and exorcisms some people took it as a way for him to continue to make money in a greedy manner since he was releasing books and interviews more rapidly when these types of situations came up. Therefore, this leads the viewers to wonder was it all about greed or was he providing knowledge at a time when the subject had so many people curious and captivated this would ultimately be a prime time to inform individuals of the scary