Tatort 1211: Das Tor zur Hölle (3 Stars)

Today I spontaneously decided to watch the new episode of "Tatort", the world's most expensive television series. The last episode I watched was in January, 34 episodes ago, but it doesn't matter if I miss episodes. With the exception of occasional two-parters, each episode is a standalone story. This episode takes place in Vienna, and I confess that I needed German subtitles because of the strong Austrian accents. 

I haven't watched many Tatort episodes, but today's episode, "Das Tor zur Hölle" (engl. "The Gate to Hell") seems to be untypical for the series. It's an episode with supernatural elements. A priest is found dead on the steps outside his church. He was involved in performing exorcisms, so the detectives Moritz Eisner and Bibi Fellner have to immerse themselves in the rituals of exorcism. Moritz is a sceptic, whereas Bibi has a Catholic upbringing and believes that demons can possess people today. They spend time with a teenage girl called Nathalie, still possessed after a first meeting with the dead priest. Now his assistant has to continue the exorcism.

An important subplot is that one of the other priests in the church believes that the entrance to Hell is in Vienna. A theology professor is writing a book on the subject.

Despite the supernatural elements, it was definitely a real person who killed the priest. The question is whether demonic possession is a mitigating circumstance after committing a murder. If Vienna really is the location of the gate to Hell, it's understandable that where will be many demonic possessions in the city.

This is an exciting, well acted episode, the 53rd appearance of Harald Krassnitzer as Moritz Eisner. My reason for the relatively low rating is my dislike of the whole demonic possession genre. Too many random things happen, depending on the size of the budget. I prefer Tatort episodes that are typical murder mysteries.