Liberation & Light: A Scholarly Review of the Documentary Film, "Triumph Over Evil"

Liberation and Light

A scholarly review of the documentary film:

“Triumph Over Evil: Battle of the Exorcists”

(U.S. Screening: 30 October 2025, Fathom Entertainment)

ORIGINAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE REVIEW VERSION

To assert that the Western world has developed an ‘unhealthy curiosity’ with the esoteric, occult, or New Age would be a remarkable understatement. Modern technology, media, and accessibility allow anyone—intentionally or naïvely—to explore these ‘intriguing’ philosophies, ideologies, or life-paths. Catholic theology, however, calls them what they are: lies. These deceptions serve as portals for extraordinary demonic activity. What begins as harmless curiosity is never innocent in the spiritual realm. The evil one needs only the slightest opening to infest, oppress, or possess a soul.

This truth is powerfully presented in the limited-release documentary Triumph Over Evil: Battle of the Exorcists. Endorsed by the Vatican-recognized International Association of Exorcists and dedicated to its founder, the late Fr. Gabriele Amorth, the film seeks to correct misconceptions about the Church’s ancient sacramental of exorcism. Long shrouded not in secrecy but in reverence for the afflicted, the rite has been misunderstood by the faithful and distorted by popular culture. Through insights from exorcists, theologians, scholars, and deliverance ministers, the film restores clarity and authority.

The documentary begins with a historical and theological overview, tracing evil’s origin beyond the Fall of Adam and Eve to the prior existence of the evil one. Drawing from the fullness of Divine Revelation—Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, which predated and gave rise to the written Word—the film affirms that all beings, spiritual and physical, originate in God. This prompts the ancient question: “Did God create evil?” The answer is unequivocal: no. God, all-loving and all-powerful, cannot contradict His nature. All creation, made imago Dei, reflects His goodness. Even the angels, across their nine choirs, were granted a single, irrevocable free choice: to serve God or not.

Lucifer, meaning “one who is like light,” likely belonged to the seraphim, the highest angelic order. Believing himself equal to his Creator, he led a rebellion when the angels faced their one-time choice. His defiant cry, “Non serviam”—“I will not serve”—echoes in Isaiah 14:12–15 and Luke 10:18–19. One-third of the angels followed him into eternal separation from God, becoming the demons who now oppose humanity.

The heart of this review lies in how effectively the film conveys the incomprehensible power of the Blessed Trinity—through the intercession of Our Lady and the Communion of Saints—within the ancient rite, Exorcismus in Satanam et angelos apostatas. Hollywood has grotesquely misrepresented this sacramental. Through decades of horror films, it has portrayed exorcism as spectacle, with little regard for Catholic truth. These depictions have poisoned audiences into accepting fiction as fact. Dare I suggest that Hollywood, by fostering doubt and fear, unwittingly collaborates with the evil one? Any credible exorcist will affirm: the devil’s greatest triumph is convincing souls he does not exist. In that deception, wills are surrendered to his influence.

Triumph Over Evil dismantles these distortions with theological precision and practitioner experience. It restores the rite to its proper context: a solemn act of divine authority, not entertainment.

The film’s most profound insight is this: Satan is a created being. Catholic—and broadly Christian—theology holds that a creature contending against the uncreated, eternal God is absurd. Satan, a fallen angel, is no match for the One who has no beginning or end. The film underscores God’s ultimate triumph over evil in every form—ordinary and extraordinary, in act and in being. This victory is rooted in Christ’s Death and Resurrection, which accomplished salvation and sealed Satan’s defeat. God reigns sovereign. The evil one is real and active, but his efforts to torment God’s beloved creation are futile. Even he knows his time is limited by his Creator’s power.

The documentary aligns perfectly with the Church’s teaching: evil is real, but God’s dominion is absolute. The exorcist’s authority flows not from himself but from Christ, who commanded demons and gave His Church power over them.

A fitting close borrows St. Teresa of Ávila’s words, echoing Matthew 25:41 and Revelation 20:10: “When the devil reminds you of your past, you need only remind him of his future.” This encapsulates the film’s message: the battle is fierce, but the victory is assured.

Triumph Over Evil is not mere education, it is a spiritual wake-up call. In an age of casual occultism, it reminds the faithful that curiosity can open doors best left closed. Yet it also proclaims unshakable hope: through the Cross, the Church, and her sacraments, Christ has triumphed. The evil one rages—but he is already defeated.

~ Prof. Anthony Maranise, Obl.S.B.

Founder & Executive Director

The Eternal Insight Group

Germantown, Tennessee, United States