Even Helmuth has a love for horror films, which made “The Devil Inside” a high priority. “I’m a huge fan of the genre,” he said. “I’m always fascinated by what terrifies people…how the state of the country can influence horror movies.”
For his role as priest David, Helmuth did a lot of research on exorcisms, both the religious and scientific sides of the phenomenon. “We all did a ton of research individually [on exorcisms]. I did that before going to Bucharest [to film] and after shooting, we’d talk about the rights and medical history of the patients.” For Helmuth, he and the cast and crew were very focused on showing the two sides of the exorcism argument–can someone can be literally possessed by a demon or is mental instability really the root of the problem?
The demons shown in the film are very active. “We focus heavily on transference,” he said. He talked about how the four demons inside Isabella’s mother (Suzan Crowley) come into play when it comes to David.
“David’s a vulnerable soul,” he said, saying how his character originally took solace in science until scientific exploration couldn’t satisfy his need for understanding the unknown. “I think a lot of people are in that state, looking to science and religion for answers.”
Helmuth feels that the sense of reality in the film has really hit home with viewers. “It really makes the audience invested and that’s why we’ve gotten such a strong response from the end. People were really living alongside these characters.”
Helmuth’s love for horror has allowed him to see the place “The Devil Inside” has cornered in the genre. “We’ve been through the vampire phase, the zombie phase. This movie brings us back to a terrifying phase in horror.”
