'Prey For The Devil' offers new take on an exorcism movie

There's a new scary movie in theaters just in time for Halloween. It's an exorcism story with a twist called "Prey For The Devil."

The twist is that it'll be up to a nun, not a priest, to get a suspected demonic force out of a little girl's body.

Director Daniel Stamm, who also made "The Last Exorcism," thinks he knows why audiences are fascinated with the subject matter.

"I think because possession is really scary, you know? Because there's nothing that terrifies us as much as losing control of our own body," Stamm said. "For many people that are believers, they have been primed for this movie for decades, you know? Half of my work as a filmmaker has been done."

Dr. William Chavez of UC Santa Barbara is an exorcism expert who's seen the movie.

"In my experience observing possession, exorcisms, yes, they get angry. But it's also quite sad. You can tell the people are sad and there's a great deal of empathy being in the room," he said.

Exorcisms in movies are definitely much more dramatic. So after seeing this film, Chavez put the experience into his own perspective.

"I would say to go and watch the film as a superhero origin story," he said. "You're watching the slow build of this female exorcist. And the ending is not quite sequel bait as other films are, but it's sort of laying the groundwork for, and if people respond to it, a new franchise star to emerge from this character that they've created."

And from what they've created, director Stamm said this: "I'm hoping that the one thing that's the same for everyone after a horror movie is that you come out and you breathe and you are still alive, you know?"

"Prey For The Devil" is rated PG-13. It's in theaters now.