Is Prey for the Devil Scary? The Verdict and the Whole Plot
Somewhat, 4 out of 10. It's a by-the-book exorcism movie with jump scares and a nun who isn't allowed to do the exorcising.
🐱THE SCARE SIGNAL
SCARE SCORE
4 /10
🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱
DREAD LEVEL
Low
The jump scares wear off quickly, so it should be gone once the credits start.
DOG
Dog: fine
fine, no dog dies.
Ruling: It is a straightforward exorcism movie with jump scares, so watch it in daylight if those bother you.
Prey for the Devil runs 93 minutes and opens with demonic possessions on the rise worldwide, so the Catholic Church has reopened its exorcism schools. One of the students is a nun, even though nuns are not allowed to perform exorcisms.
The premise, briefly
A nun trains at a reopened exorcism school despite the rules against it, then takes on the case of a young girl who may be possessed by the same demon that tormented the nun's mother.
How much do you want to know?
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The verdict above is spoiler-free. Everything below, including the ending, stays hidden until you pick a depth.
🐱CUT TO THE CHASE
How it ends
Ann learns that Natalie is the daughter she gave up for adoption. The demon moves from Natalie into Ann, who frees herself in a pool of holy water. In a cab afterward, the driver turns out to be the possessed old man again, and Ann reaches for a crucifix.
The scene you're dreading
While Ann is attending classes, she is trapped in the room of an elderly possessed patient, who harasses her and dances with her against her will. You see an old man dancing with a nun who did not agree to it.
The dog
No dog dies in Prey for the Devil, and no cat or other animal does either.
It is a conventional exorcism story with jump scares and a family secret, and it ends with the fight still going.
THE SHORT VERSION IS HIDDEN
How it ends, the scene you're dreading, what happens to the dog, and the bottom line. About twenty seconds to read.
What actually happens
A nun signs up for a course that does not admit nuns
A global rise in demonic possessions has pushed the Catholic Church to reopen its exorcism schools and train priests in the Rite of Exorcism. Nuns are forbidden from performing exorcisms, but Father Quinn sees that Sister Ann has real gifts, including empathy with people who are possessed, and agrees to train her. Ann studies alongside a fellow student, Father Dante. She ends up fighting for the soul of a young girl named Natalie, who she believes is possessed by the same demon that tormented her own mentally unstable mother years earlier.
Ann goes to class despite resistance from some of the staff and amusement from some of the priests. Then frightening things start happening to her, including disturbing visions and memories. During those classes, an elderly possessed male patient harasses her when she is trapped in his room and dances with her against her will. That is the scene people dread most. Ann keeps going anyway. With Dante's help she digs through the secret archives and looks into the histories of the terminal cases, who are likely to die, and into a woman the institute had let go.
Ann decides to go home to the convent
Ann helps exorcise Dante's troubled sister, and it appears to work. The next morning, the Cardinal and the school's leaders tell her that the woman has killed herself. Ann is crushed and decides to go back to her old convent. Then Dante visits and tells her that Natalie has relapsed after recovering and leaving the school and will probably end up at the Vatican among the terminal cases. He talks Ann into sneaking back into the school with him to perform an exorcism on Natalie themselves.
A holy water pool is not a swimming lesson
Once she is in the room, Ann finds out, to her shock, that Natalie is her own daughter. Ann gave her up for adoption years ago, when Ann was a pregnant teenager. The anguish of being abandoned made Natalie vulnerable to possession. The demon eventually leaves Natalie and possesses Ann instead. Ann tumbles into a big pool of holy water, and she fights through the pain of her own history until she frees herself from the demon.
The ending, explained
The school's leadership rewards Ann with an academic fellowship to the Vatican. Later, in a cab, she discovers the driver is the same old man who pestered her while possessed. The cab stops in the street, and the sinister-looking woman the institute let go stares at her from the pavement. The driver snarls and lunges at her, and Ann grabs a crucifix to defend herself. The film ends there, with the driver still lunging at her. Natalie, Ann's daughter, is free of the demon, and Ann has freed herself too.
The post-credits ruling
Nobody has confirmed whether there is a scene after the credits.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, no dog dies.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Prey for the Devil scary?
Somewhat. Prey for the Devil is a 4 out of 10 with low dread, a conventional exorcism movie with jump scares and very little gore.
How does Prey for the Devil end?
Ann learns that Natalie is her daughter, frees both of them from the demon, and is rewarded with a fellowship to the Vatican. In a cab afterward the possessed old man lunges at her, and she reaches for a crucifix.
Does the dog die in Prey for the Devil?
No dog dies in Prey for the Devil, and no cat or other animal does either.
Is there a post-credits scene in Prey for the Devil?
Nobody has confirmed whether Prey for the Devil has a scene after the credits.
Who is Natalie in Prey for the Devil?
Natalie is the young girl whom Ann tries to save from a demon. Ann learns that Natalie is the daughter she gave up for adoption as a pregnant teenager.
BLURRED FOR YOUR PROTECTION
The whole plot of Prey for the Devil is hidden, ending included. It stays that way until you ask.
You don't need 93 minutes of Prey for the Devil to find out whether Ann wins. Install Scaredy Cat and it will blur the horror before you see it.
