The Pope’s Exorcist Review: A great Russell Crowe fights demons in the film, obsessed with the memory of a certain 50-year-old horror classic

It’s hard to watch a movie with “Exorcist” in the title and not immediately think of William Friedkin’s all-time Oscar-winning 1973 horror classic, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Still, there have been dozens of films of all kinds that have tried to work their own magic in this subgenre, but none have been able to surpass what Friedkin and screenwriter William Peter Blatty have done in this brilliant film.

But now, with a little twist, we have a new item, The Pope’s Exorcismwho hopes to attract the public with the promise of the story of a real exorcist – and not just an ordinary devil killer, but Father Gabriele Amorth, who practiced his trade at the Vatican for 36 years, and rose to become chief executive there in 1992, upon his death in 2016. By the way, he wrote books, “good” ones as this film shows, An exorcist tells his stories And An exorcism: more storiescollected to write the film, which also wisely cast Russell Crowe for a witty, colorful and determined portrayal of Amorth, who shared many different aspects and stories of his “exorcisms”.

Unless you think it’s a biopic with emphasis on Strictly speaking Events, rethink or just stay until the credits roll to find out that “it’s a fiction” with characters that look like no person living or dead. In this way, the screenwriters and director Julius Avery developed a story more familiar from the horror genre, centered on the devil’s possession and subsequent exorcism of a boy named Henry. But before we get to that, we meet Amorth performing another exorcism, one that lands him in hot water (something he was used to) with a rigid Vatican Council questioning his methods, especially the way and manner in which he have mental illnesses or mental illnesses. health problems. by challenging the “devil in them”. As mentioned before, 98% of these Amorth cases are generally referred to health care professionals, but it is the 2% that stand out (and of course become a huge success).

Cut to sunny Spain, where we meet a seemingly normal American family, only to arrive at an abandoned, dilapidated and remote abbey that Julia (Alex Essoe), a recently widowed woman from her late husband’s family estate inherited. It’s definitely a renovation, and work has begun to restore it when she arrives with son Henry (Peter DeSouza Feighoney) and troubled teenage daughter Amy (Laurel Marsden), both unhappy that their lives have been turned upside down by the move. trapped in an obscure house. and scary looking monsters like this in a foreign land. Things soon get even scarier as this place seems to have quite a past and the demons within are being awakened.

When Henry shows signs of truly horrific behavior, a young priest, Father Esquibel (Daniel Zovatto), is sent to investigate. What he observes is above his pay grade and before long the Vatican sends for Amorth, who comes riding down the street on his motorcycle. Despite initial skepticism, he is immediately alarmed by what he sees and is now convinced that it is the devil’s work, a 2% sure. When he uncovers it, things get much more complicated and Amorth with the help of the young priest and the support of the Pope (veteran Franco Nero) gets more than He negotiate, find a slide into the church’s past and deeply held secrets.

Unlike Friedkin the exorcist, where Max von Sydow only had to exorcise demons from the dizzying Linda Blair, here it is about the phenomenon of multiple possessions up to the Pope. Avery milks the action for all it’s worth, and it’s made effective on its own terms.

Crowe, who gives us a sharp characterization of the unpredictable Amorth, is a godsend (sorry) for this film, becoming the only real beacon of credibility in what is usually a very Hollywood-esque approach to the subject. It made me want to learn more about the real Amorth, as well as a documentary he participated in that featured an actual exorcism (you know, the kind where they don’t have a 24/7 special effects team do not have). As it is, I found this film entertaining enough and certainly well done, with fine cinematography by Khalid Mohtaseb and excellent production design by Alan Gilmore.

Producers are Doug Belgrade, Michael Patrick Kaczmarek and Jeff Katz. Sony will not open the production of Screen Gems in theaters until Friday.

Title: The Pope’s Exorcism
Distributor: Sony images
Release date: April 14, 2023
Director: Julius Avery
Screenwriters: Michael Petroni, Evan Spiliotopoulos (film story by R. Dean McCreary, Chester Hastings and Jeff Katz)
Form: Russell Crowe, Daniel Zovatto, Alex Essoe, Franco Nero, Laurel Marsden, Peter DeSouza Feighoney, Carrie Munro
Judge: R
Time: 1 hour 43 minutes