Lilith

Most indie horror films comprise of gratuitous nudity, a few splashes of gore and a monster that will at least hasten the pulse rate of even the most hardened of horror aficionados. ‘Lilith’ (2005) stays close to the formula, but in an entirely different way. The plot is basically this; five girls staying at a religious retreat summon the female demon Lilith in a misguided effort to get a good grade on their final project, but this of course does not go to plan.

In mythology, Lilith was originally the first wife of Adam, created as his equal. Adam did not agree with Lilith on the subject of their equal status and treated her as a lesser being. To escape her life of sub service she fled with Lucifer, the myth being that Lilith was created from fire, explaining her alliance with the morning star. Eventually she returned to the garden of Eden as a serpent and shared with Eve the fruit of knowledge.

In other texts Lilith is a wind demon, represented by an owl, another link to knowledge and wisdom. As she cannot reproduce, she steals and kills new-born boys, to protect their children, parents place an amulet around their child's neck containing the names of three angels who banished her from Eden. Lilith also has much in common with the legend of the succubus, (a female incubus,) a mythical figure of subversive sexuality. The male counterpart, the incubus, was a male demon which would rape women in their sleep-in order to reproduce. Succubae appear in the form of beautiful women and they have the power to give men dreams of a sexual nature, by drawing energy from the man’s libido they sustain themselves.

The succubus lacks the ability to reproduce although it is suggested that they and the incubi are the same asexual creature. In the film Lilith's power is to give men nocturnal emissions and whoever summons her is given the power of such sexual prowess that men will not go back to having sex with mortal women. This version of Lilith borrows more from the legend of the succubus rather than the biblical version. In the film Lilith is summoned by receiving an offering of sexual fantasies written on paper and in order to complete her cycle she uses these fantasies to feed off the life force of these young women, much like the succubae. The summoning spell is reminiscent of the (The Craft, 1996), except it is performed topless because we have five nubile young ladies who do not seem to have much of a problem undressing in front of each other. The main point of contention with the summoning spell being that each girl must write down their deepest sexual desire on a piece of paper.

Mary (Jacqueline Hickel), the 'heroine' figure of the film refuses at first, but once reassured that her fantasy is not revealed she complies with the instructions. The ritual is completed but nothing seems to have happened. The girls are disturbed post-ritual by Randy (Brian Cade), the boyfriend of Clarice (Nikki Gahan) who led the summoning spell. Clarice is obviously tempted by having the power to control her boyfriend through sex as she is keen to marry him. Clarice and Randy leave the girls dormitory, not knowing that the spell has worked. Sister Catherine (Tina Krause), the nun supervising the girls at the retreat is not aware that the girls have performed this ritual however, from the outset of the film we know that things are not all that they seem with this woman.

Catherine is on medication for psychological problems, she has suffered from nightmares and fantasies associated with early childhood abuse. It appears that she was a part of some type of ritualistic abuse, cut with knives and left in the woods inside a wooden box, nailed shut. It becomes very clear throughout the film that she is actually possessed by Lilith. By day she is a strict, rule enforcing nun, but whilst she sleeps, her fantasies are reality. The first occurrence of this is the first night after the summoning spell has taken place. Mary is woken by Randy who has sex with her, next to the sleeping Clarice who wakes up and sees what is happening. Randy then begins to strangle Mary during sex but then suddenly let’s go. There is no secret that Sister Catherine has a soft spot for Mary, going as far to have a sexual fantasy about her and the other girls in the showers. Catherine even apologises to Mary on two occasions after berating her.

The next morning, Mary is woken by a sobbing Clarice who confronts her about having sex with Randy. Mary is convinced that it was all a bad dream until Clarice points out that Mary is bleeding from having lost her virginity. Clarice flees the cabin and ultimately falls to her death from a cliff face during a dream sequence. Lilith appears after her death to feed from her and leaves a note, the scrap of paper with Clarice's fantasy on it. Her wish? Sexual power. The other three girls at the retreat befall a similar fate. Whilst they sleep, they all begin to have dreams based on their deepest sexual fantasies. Tiffany (Lauren McCarthy) portrayed as vain and low on intelligence, dreams of being famous and during plastic surgery (because her sugar daddy figure has looked at another woman) she ends up horribly disfigured by her surgeon. Her wish was to stop men in their tracks, her wish was fulfilled as people would stare at her mutilated face. She dies from electrocution, having walked into the shower block during her sleep, turned on the taps and dropped a hairdryer (handed to her by Lilith).

Michelle (Courtney Pahlke), the daddy's girl figure ends up drowned after dreaming that she has had sex with her father, whilst engaged in sadomasochistic acts with the priest at the retreat, whom she also calls "father", "To become one with the father" was the wish she received. Jackie (Lauren Ryland), who appears to have a strong dislike of men, fantasises being placed in a situation where she is attacked by a bartender and she stabs him with a knife to escape his clutches. During her sleep she also strikes herself with a fatal blow. Her wish was to gain revenge. It is not known that Jackie was placed in this situation before and was not in a position to act. In her dream sequence she claims to be aged sixteen when she is obviously older. In a previous scene when she and the other girls are searching for Clarice, she pulls a blade on a man who threatens them in the woods. Having been witness to her own powerlessness in the face of attack, she now acts upon danger when it becomes apparent. Finally, her desire for revenge upon the men who have assaulted her is fulfilled in her dream.

Only Mary is left untouched although she appears in Catherine's dream where the pair engage in lovemaking, however when Catherine awakes, she is horrified. The last scene of the film is Mary, confronted with Lilith, and her identity is revealed as Catherine thinly disguised with a black veil. Marry attempts to close the spell by dropping the amulet into the pentagram. Lilith disappears and Catherine, dressed in her nightclothes appears and takes the vulnerable Mary into her arms and then in a shocking turn, feeds from her.

We never find out what Mary's wish was, but this suggests that Mary also harboured a desire for Catherine. The traditional role of the 'heroine' is strengthened by her relationships with the women around her. Mary seems closer to Catherine than to any of the other girls at the retreat, and to imply that there is a romantic attachment between the two strengthens the dynamic between the heroine and the monster. Polarising Mary and Lilith as well as bringing Mary and Catherine closer. Mary's attempts to save her virginity could also be seen as that she may not have had relationships with men, but instead with women. The main communication of this film seems to be that women should not reveal their sexual wishes, or through doing so they will face fatal punishment.

Sister Catherine, who is the most repressed of the women at the retreat, once her medication has worn off and all of her hidden fantasies are revealed, transforms into Lilith; which asks the questions; was she Lilith all along? Did she hide the summoning spell in the back of the textbook for the girls to find? By finally giving into her wishes to take advantage of Mary, she completes her cycle. It is also interesting to see that Lilith feeds from the mouth of her female victim, the kiss that strengthens her and up until she feeds from Mary, all of her victims are dead. The theory that she was Lilith all along is strengthened by the fact that it is only after her fantasies resurface that all of the trouble begins. Catherine's surplus repression of her urges relies crucially upon the construction of her terrifying alter-ego, her fantasies pushed deeper into her sub-consciousness resulting in the emergence of the demon who acts upon the urges and fantasies of others.

Country: USA
Budget: £
Length: 86mins

Filmography:
'The Craft', 1996, Andrew Fleming, Columbia Pictures Corporation

Pub/2008

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'Bloody Moon', 1981, directed by Jesus Franco