Review of The Exorcism of Roland Doe Shock Docs Documentary

On Friday, February 5, a new Shock Docs special, The Exorcism of Roland Doe, starts streaming on discovery+. Even though I subscribe to the streamer, I lucked out and was granted access to an advanced screener. So what did I think? Is it worth watching? Before I get to my review of The Exorcism of Roland Doe, let’s quickly review what it’s about.

About The Exorcism of Roland Doe

The two-hour special reveals surprising new details of the real exorcism case of a 13-year-old boy, known as Roland Doe. The case inspired the iconic 1973 horror film The Exorcist, which was based on the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty.

More than 70 years ago, Doe became the unwilling participant in America’s most famous story of the devil inhabiting a person’s soul. Catholic priests who perform exorcisms say what happened to the young boy is consistent with demonic possessions and that details of the story are true.

The documentary contains re-enactments of the priests who battled the demon lurking inside the possessed boy. It also recounts the bizarre and violent manifestations they witnessed, including levitation, vomiting, unnatural human strength and bloody markings on the boy’s body.

It also presents a long-lost interview with a dying monk, who never spoke about his participation in the boy’s exorcisms until now. He details his frightening experience watching the boy levitate above a bed. Then the grand finale is when another eyewitness exposes a possible cover-up in the case.

Review of The Exorcism of Roland Doe

**Warning! Spoilers ahead!**

It’s a very well-made narrated documentary that includes a mix of interviews and reenactments. The interviewees include paranormal experts like Jeff Belanger and Troy Taylor, who himself was inspired to write a book about the Roland Doe case called The Devil Came to St. Louis.

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However, there are others who are interviewed too, including priests, mental health experts, and even the granddaughter of Father Bowdern, one of the main priests involved in the exorcism.

Who was Roland Doe?

The reenactments are well done and not too cheesy or over the top, but one thing I couldn’t help wondering as I watched was: “Do they ever reveal the boy’s true identity?”

No.

Because to me, that would make the story more believable. However, they do address that “Roland Doe,” now in his eighties, remained a life-long Catholic, married, and had children.

Troy Taylor had an interesting insight about this. He stated that, thanks to his research, he knows who the man is but will never reveal his identity and is glad it has remained confidential. That allowed Roland to live his life without being badgered about his experiences. One of the mental health experts questioned whether Roland would even remember his ordeal. Since it was so traumatic, he might not.

Was the devil really involved?

However, the issue was also raised about the veracity of the events, and whether the devil really had anything to do with it, or was it all in the boy’s mind. The skeptic in me appreciated that. I have a very hard time believing in demons and exorcisms and all that.

But, that said, demons are like ghosts. I’ve had some interesting experiences I can’t explain, but as far as I know, I’ve never seen a ghost. That doesn’t mean they don’t exist. The same goes for demons.

Speaking of humans perhaps being the cause, the documentary also addressed it from that angle. A little bit. Apparently, Roland was taken to medical and psychiatric doctors, who found nothing wrong with him. They even played the Devil’s advocate and examined other possible causes for some of the phenomenon, such as alternative explanations for how the bed and night table may have levitated.

But mostly they focused on the possession of Roland Doe and how many times he endured exorcism before he was free of his demon.

What happened to the devil?

It also introduced an issue I always wonder about when it comes to exorcisms (and why I struggle to believe they’re real): where did the demon go after it left Roland’s body?

The big “cover-up” has to do with a man who presents a theory that a priest sacrificed himself and absorbed the demon, which he lived with until he died. But when he died, the room that he lived in stayed locked to keep the demon trapped.

The man claims he saw the room in a building and was told things were often heard moving inside or crashing against the walls.

It’s an interesting theory but seems far-fetched.

That’s the other thing I appreciated about the documentary: it addressed the fact that the Vatican has never publically confirmed these events happened and even some of the experts expressed doubts about whether all the claims could be believed or not.

But that’s what makes the story so interesting. The “what if” possibilities.

Rating

I may not wholly believe in the events that transpired —or, rather, I may not believe that the devil was the cause of the events that transpired. However, I love knowing more about the “based on real events” story that inspired The Exorcist and thought how they presented it was very well done.

For that reason, my review of The Exorcism of Roland Doe is a four out of five skulls.

The Exorcism of Roland Doe Trailer

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