“For years, my alters went to therapy and I wasn’t there for more than five minutes.”
- Hilary Stanton
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When the Devil Knocks is the intimate story of a woman suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder, formerly known as Multiple Personality. Hilary Stanton gave the filmmakers unlimited access to more than 40 hours of videotapes of her psychotherapy, filmed over 10 years. The therapy tapes reveal a cast of supporting characters, “alters”, who kept Hilary alive by taking over from her during times of crisis. As Hilary says, “For years, my alters went to therapy and I wasn’t there for more than five minutes.”
Until her mid-40s, Hilary Stanton lived with big gaps in her memory that she thought were normal. Then Hilary had a breakdown, started therapy, and gradually discovered that – during those gaps in memory that she thought were so normal – other personalities (“alters”) were taking over from her.
The documentary When the Devil Knocks opens as Hilary barrels down the highway towards a family reunion. Alter Tim takes over the wheel and makes a U-turn at high speed. Hilary ‘comes to’ as she’s losing control of the car.
“I knew immediately I must befriend Tim. You want the angry hostile alters to be your assistants. When the devil knocks, invite him in for tea.”
- Cheryl Malmo, Hilary’s psychologist
Tim was one of the most dominant of the 35 alters who would finally make their presence known, a phalanx of inner children who fought to protect Hilary’s core self from memories of horrific childhood abuse. It would be the job of therapist Cheryl Malmo to convince each of these alters that the abuse is in the past: it is safe to give up their memories to Hilary and, finally, to merge their personality with hers.
The therapy sessions were initially videotaped to train therapists in the treatment of Dissociative Identity Disorder. They are shockingly intimate; taking us inside a mind in the throes of a fascinating disorder and revealing the power of the human mind to protect the self by disconnecting from traumatic memories.