A creepy new documentary follows a group of priests as they do battle with the demonic amidst the upswell in exorcisms that has arisen this past decade.

Titled Deliver Us, the doc follows 80-year-old Catholic priest Father Cataldo Migliazzo, Sicily's "most in-demand exorcist," chronicling his run-ins with disturbed individuals claiming that a demon has possessed them. From the Los Angeles Times:

The subject matter of “Deliver Us” is sensational, but Di Giacomo’s approach is more in the spirit of documentarian Frederick Wiseman, where very little is explained. Audiences are immersed in the day-to-day business of a man who confidently advises some obviously mentally ill individuals to submit to his expertise — while they writhe and hiss and growl like beasts.

The film’s final minutes expand beyond Father Cataldo, observing that the rite of exorcism is growing in popularity around the world. “Deliver Us” offers no theories as to why. Instead, Di Giacomo listens patiently to people who earnestly believe that they’re plagued by a supernatural evil. In a way, their calm certitude is as scary as any actual demon.

The rite of exorcism dictates that a priest must first determine whether or not the subject is mentally ill before any ritual can be performed, beginning first as a rigid skeptic, searching for any logical explanations for the erratic behavior before making a final decree on the matter. If the priest determines the person is suffering from mental illness, he will immediately refer them to a qualified psychiatrist.

Director Di Giacomo said the rituals in the film were "very real."

"Sometimes it was really difficult not to share their suffering — especially when you see the things that were happening to their bodies, the contorting from within their muscles," said the director.

"The priests are the first to tell them to see doctors, but they can’t turn them away — they can’t say no to listening," she continued. "Some of these people still can’t be reasoned with, so they have to listen as part of the traditional practice — but like doctors, I saw some priests that were really very bad, and some that were very good."

Exorcisms have been on the rise in recent years, a phenomenon priests have attributed to the upswing in occult activity. For instance, recent studies show that Millennials have ditched religion in favor of witchcraft and astrology, both of which are a gateway for demonic entry, according to Catholic doctrine.

"The most obvious way we let Satan into our lives is through sin," said Father John Hampsch, a psychologist. "Serious and habitual sin can be a gateway. An innocent person can be affected by hexes or curses but I would say most cases of possession needing serious deliverance come about through involvement in the occult, with practices such as Ouija board or tarot cards or some kind of New Age practice. The other form is through some kind of sin addiction such as alcohol, drugs or pornography. A case I was dealing with recently was addicted to pornography and he suffered from demonic manifestations."