Firstly, a warning – the images below might make you uncomfortable or downright squirm. And now: the review.

Before humanity understood just how important mental health was to a person’s wellbeing, psychological illnesses were often mistaken as demonic possessions. As such, it was common for mentally ill people to be subjected to exorcisms instead of being given professional help.

But what if those mental illnesses were symptoms of actual demonic possession? That is the facetious question brought up by “Prey for the Devil” in one of its early scenes.

Have depression? It’s demons. Schizophrenia? Demons. Bipolar disorder? Demons.

Directed by Daniel Stamm, this horror flick is set in 2018, in a world where demonic possession is pandemic and a medically recognised issue.

There are religious hospitals dedicated to helping and exorcising evil spirits from the bodies of their patients, and one nun in particular desires to be the first female exorcist the world has seen in centuries.

It is an interesting premise, one that potentially raises questions about the wider world in general. Would medical insurance cover cases of demonic possession? Is getting possessed a valid reason to skip work?

Sadly, the film never bothers to answer these. All the audience needs to know is that demons are real, and exorcisms are a scientific discipline.

Serving as a nurse at one exorcism school is Sister Ann (Jacqueline Bryers), a nun who is determined to learn more about exorcism. She has some personal history with demons, after all, as she believes her mentally ill mother had been possessed by one.

Despite her eagerness, she is roadblocked by her higher-ups, who insist exorcisms are something only men can do. It seems sexism is well and alive in this fictitious world, too.

Despite this unfavourable situation, she presses on in her study and eventually comes across a situation where her help is needed. A young girl named Natalie (Posy Taylor) is possessed by a particularly stubborn demon, and it falls upon Ann to do what she can to save the child’s soul.

Now, this is hardly the first horror film centred about demons and exorcism. There are others like “The Exorcist” and “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” – heck, it’s right there in the name.

Despite sharing similar subjects, however, “Prey for the Devil” does not hold a candle to those two.

Throughout, the film suggests that demonic possession is linked to one’s experience with personal trauma – a theme also explored by another recent fright-fest, “Smile”. But it is a half-baked message that is never truly explored and ends up getting wasted.

One could also argue that “Prey” offers a negative way of looking at mental illness, as much as this reflects practices in the days of yore. Given the setting and period of the film, it certainly is an eyebrow-raising decision.

Speaking of eyes: when it comes to the scares and shocks, there are a couple of interesting and original ideas here, some of which may actually send shivers down your spine or have you looking away in revulsion.

There’s the usual unnatural body contortions, a staple in possession flicks; and then, out of nowhere, you have Natalie being choked by her own hair. It’s pretty terrifying, though it might have been more effective had they not chosen to depict it on the movie poster.

Apart from these, there are the expected jump scares, dark figures waiting in dimly lit corridors, and things going bump into the night. Hardly new stuff.

The film’s pacing is such that there’s a lot of downtime between these frightening moments, so the audience is often left waiting for something, anything, to happen.

The rest of it, unfortunately, is predictable, the climax something you can see coming from a mile away (assuming you don’t have a filament in your eye).

While the film’s visual effects are tolerable, the resolution is rather disappointing, painting you with the impression that the filmmakers simply ran out of ideas at the end.

So, is “Prey for the Devil” worth a watch? Nah – you’d be better off saving your money for “Black Panther 2” instead.

‘Prey for the Devil’ is screening in cinemas nationwide.