Literary Movie Review: Pray the Devil Back to Hell

Watching this film, I saw many universal themes, themes as universal as the idea of religion, of nature and of the battle of the sexes.

First off, the title: Pray the Devil Back to Hell. Already we see a hint of religion. Religion in this film is somewhat the undertone, if not, a major influence in the actions of the women who are fighting for peace. It reminded me of how the women who were bravely fighting for peace of mind (no more living in fear of getting hurt, raped, etc) retreat back to religion as a backbone to support and give them ideas as to how to strategize against a man’s problem.

Another major universal theme is the battle of the sexes. Actually, it is the helping of one of the sexes as they drop so low as to induce fear among many and to create unnecessary violence in the streets. The men need the help of the women. The men need to get out of their lowly place. The women are there to enlighten them because they were careful observers. The men were busy vacationing while the women and children as well as other innocent people forcibly experienced the violence and the fear. It wasn’t much of a battle of sexes, as it was a friend helping another friend get out of the tempting violence, as it was a sex helping the other sex to create a better humanity.

The universal theme of nature also sprung up throughout the whole film. On the outside (even in public affairs) men are the ones in control, but deep down, when it comes to nature and basic living and living in peace, mothers and women are the ones in control. But isn’t that battle of the sexes? No, because here, in this situation, the women and mothers are the ones helping the lowly friends, which comprise their husbands and sons and even brothers. Running along the lines of nature, just as Mother Nature (Earth) is manipulated by its inhabitants (pollution, global warming, etc), the mothers in this film are being manipulated by their men. The men are making their mothers live in fear and in the edge of living, existing. She is being manipulated and forcibly tested for her strength in fighting what has gone wrong among their children, their men; they are fighting for peace. So here, we see the theme of the relationship between mothers, women and nature and the family and peace.

The film also poses the question that philosophers have - are we naturally good or are we naturally evil? It can be seen both ways from this film, though, based on the previous theme, and based on my personal opinion that I have always felt, people are naturally good. The evil side, obviously can be seen when the men resort to violence and weapons as a way of gaining power. The good side can be seen through the mothers having to take care of business; the mothers having that tendency, that natural tendency to restore peace and bring us back to our peaceful roots.