Film Review: For Sale by Exorcist (2025)
Since the first time someone got scared on camera, there have been impish minds seeking to recreate the moments of terror in a comedic context. Call it horror-comedy, mockumentary, splatterstick, or some other equally-tortured portmanteau, these films have a unique appeal that goes beyond the root genres, and if the person behind the camera raises their empty whiskey bottle to the storm-streaked sky at just the right moment, they just might catch something worthwhile.
In the modern era, I think Sean of the Dead really put these films on the map, but since then we’ve seen many exceedingly awesome films that make for uniquely memorable cinema: I’m thinking of One Cut of the Dead, a film so audaciously conceived that it imparts disappointment at its conclusion, knowing that the first time it can experienced is forever passed. I’m thinking Deadstream, which created a brilliantly layered meta-commentary on horror-as-spectacle while also being genuinely clever. I thinking What We Do in the Shadows, a chord so sharp that audiences couldn’t let it go, and the modestly popular film begat a top-twenty all-time television show by the same name.
“There are no pickles, Bruce.”
In this case, we’re a bit further down the cinematic pecking order, to a debut film called For Sale by Exorcist, in which Susan Price (Emily Classen), a “certified” exorcist and real estate agent has carved unique niche in her market by cleansing and selling haunted properties. She’s a is a workaholic who lives out of hotels, equal parts hustler-with-heart and supernatural opportunist. Only Susan is getting road weary, and when she finally finds her forever home, it’s stolen out from under her by Amanda Duncan, the television real estate queen who sees Susan’s dream as her next quick flip. Faced with a devil’s bargain to get the property back, Susan finds her unique combination of skills may be just what is needed to overcome the circumstances.
This is a film that sends a few questionable signals early on, but turns incredibly rewarding if audiences can push past any initial skepticism. Lead Emily Classen’s chicken-friend Southern schlock is overdone, but not charmless, and she ultimately serves as the right kind of lead for this brand of humor. She Paula Dean’s ghosts with equal parts sage and sass, and her extended cast of friends and clients (which includes indie horror folk heroes Helenmary Ball and John Dimes) make for an unexpectedly effective and decidedly hilarious cast. This script was tailor-made for these actors, and while it throws a lot of things at the wall, I’m happy to conclude that the vast majority of them stick.
“In Little League with the Devil?”
The audience needs to know what they’re in for here: this film is cheesy as hell, but exceedingly fun. The script is absurd, but knows it, and there’s a solid mix of verbalized and physical humor. The comedic timing is, with a few small exceptions, uniformly excellent, and I paused the film more than once to note particularly ridiculous lines that still work despite their utter silliness. Anyone who writes professionally will tell you comedy is harder than anything else, but first-credit screenwriters Chris LaMartina and Rob Walker have nailed it, and director Melissa LaMartina knew exactly how to get the utmost out of the script. While the production is humble and the many of the individual gags fade fast, this team accomplished what they set out to do, and that deserves applause.
With home-wrecking ghosts, errant bluetooth EVPs, and a solidly cynical eye toward the popular culture around hauntings, this isn’t exactly new territory, but it is a smartly-crafted and clever exploration into the places horror people spend a lot of time.
“When Nixon was elected they took turns drowning each other behind the house”
It’s not quite a classic like the films I mentioned in the opening, but this movie is an surprisingly clever and genuinely fun watch, and I think these filmmakers could do some really smart and welcome things in the space going forward. For Sale by Exorcist is what audiences want from small-budget independent horror: hit what you’re aiming for, don’t take your project too seriously, and do well with what you have given your budgetary or technical limitations.
Score: 7.5
Strengths
Smartly written script, with the vast majority of the jokes landing right where they need to
Knows what it is, and works well in that space
Uniformly strong comedic acting
Weaknesses
Might be too absurd for some
Humor a touch too old for Gen Z?
You may also like: Deadstream, Y2K, Happy Death Day
