The possession subgenre has been in a rut for a minute. We still show up to watch these movies, but they’re no longer scary. At least not in America, where franchises have lost the recipes to what made their first one or two entries great. Most of the films follow the same rhythm and narrative, so we find ourselves laughing more often than being frightened. This is one of the many reasons I am happy Roqia (the Arabic term for exorcism) made its way to my screen. 

Roqia has none of the American need to insert Christian propaganda into its narrative. It’s also not here to give us another tidy paint-by-the-number story of a good family being tormented by a possessed child. The film sets its sights on something more urgent and important. Writer-director Yanis Koussim’s script remembers that the exorcism should be a vehicle for an idea. That leads to some impactful cinema that rattles the audience. It reminds us of the power of storytelling, instead of allowing us to take it for granted as we roll our eyes at fan service and cash grabs. 

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Roqia utilizes two points in time to accomplish its goals. In 1992, Ahmed (Ali Namous) is left bandaged and with amnesia after a car crash. He returns to his village even though he doesn’t even remember his wife and kids. Ahmed is haunted by mysterious figures whispering at him. He also doesn’t know why a man—who is supposedly his friend—makes him uneasy. Meanwhile, in the present day, an elderly Raqi (a Muslim exorcist) is beginning to lose a battle with Alzheimer’s disease. This is alarming to his disciple (Akram Djeghim), who is also watching the violence in their city escalate.  

Roqia is, at turns, jarring and heartbreaking. Hearts will go out for Ahmed’s wife, Selma (Lydia Hanni), and their kids. It’s also hard not to sympathize with Raqi (Mostefa Djadjam) as a man whose memory is starting to fail him. However, his pregnant neighbor and helper, Waffa (Hanaa Mansour), might have the saddest arc of all. We don’t get her full story, but she mentions that she was possessed before and would rather die than experience it again. So, the impending bad times in the present timeline feel extra mean.

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This is not your typical possession movie. Roqia is not here to regurgitate the usual good versus evil conversation that leans towards religious propaganda. The filmmaker instead uses the subgenre to explore the aftereffects of seemingly never-ending cycles of violence. It uses a small cast of characters to make its point. However, it’s actually focused on exorcising extremist beliefs that lead to people claiming terrorism is part of their supposed religion. The film uses two timelines to explore how these atrocities impact multiple generations. It’s a hard watch because the blood we come to horror for represents this idea that we carry the traumas of what came before us. We have no say in being infected, but are we doing our part to cure the disease so we don’t pass it down?

Roqia is a prime example of why we have to get away from American possession movies steeped in Catholicism. This film unsettles, as it educates, while forcing viewers to think and feel. While there are some disturbing moments, Koussim’s is more interested in using real-life horror and its lasting effects rather than jump scares. How does a society heal from a shared trauma? Is that even possible in a world that never slows down long enough for individuals to grieve and process? This question is at the forefront of this film. We see the ripple effects of what happened in 1992 haunting characters in the present day. We also see them meet tragic endings as they cannot escape the lingering shadows of the past.

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All of these questions, thoughts, and scares are captured in interesting ways by Director of Photography Jean-Marie Delorme. While many audience members have thoughts about handheld cameras, I find them to be an intimate way into a story. Here, we’re forced to feel for Selma as we see her hurt by her bandaged husband’s lack of interest in her advances. We’re also basically in the action as Ahmed runs from the truth to his family, with the camera shaking behind him. These choices are also highlighted in the color schemes used to separate 1992 from the present day. Colorist Marine Lepoutre also reminds the audience that the present is still haunted by making things colder. Roqia forces the audience to be a witness, and the visual language forces us to feel it on various levels. 

This is the exorcism movie we need right now. Roqia is a hard watch that makes the audience look head-on at completely avoidable and unspeakable evils. It’s focused on the atrocities of Algeria’s civil war during the 1990s and how it haunts people to this day. However, extremism, violence, and terrorism are sadly cyclical. Refusing to acknowledge the horrors that came before is how society finds itself doomed to repeat itself. In most countries, we can already see generational trauma being passed down to the kids who are interviewed on the news after tragedy strikes (again). Roqia puts pain, fear, and devastation on display and asks why humans refuse to do better.

Roqia premiered at Settimana Internazionale della Critica (Critics Week) in Venice.

Are you one of the lucky few who have seen Roqia? Then let’s talk about it on Bluesky.

Summary

This is the exorcism movie we need right now. ‘Roqia’ is a hard watch that makes the audience look head-on at completely avoidable and unspeakable evils

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