The Pope’s Exorcist -Review || What is Pope’s Exorcist based on?
The Pope’s exorcist is directed by Julius Avery, the filmmaker behind Overlord and Samaritan, and stars Russell Crowe. And we follow him as Gabriel AMORT, the Vatican’s leading exorcist, as he investigates the possession of a child and uncovers a conspiracy the Vatican has tried to keep secret.
When it comes to exorcism movies, anyone trying to make a new one has their work cut out for them. The best one ever made already happened, and a great sequel to it, exorcist Three happened as well. And then there have been just endless, endless piles of exorcism movies, and almost all of them aren’t that good.
The exorcism of Emily Rose being a massive standout amongst that pile. When I saw the trailer for this movie, I detached from it pretty much immediately. It seemed like it would be a long string of exorcism cliches and demon cliches that we’ve all seen 100 times. And in some ways that is true. The Pope’s Exorcist is not going to be a game-changer when it comes to Exorcism movies.
People crawl around on the floor, they speak languages that they don’t know, and young children say offensive words. I’m talking about The Pope’s Exorcist because of a few things because I didn’t love this movie. I didn’t think it was the greatest movie ever made or anything.
I think that there are far better horror films and there are far better exorcist films, but there are a few things about the Pope’s Exorcist I do want to talk about that I think stand out amongst the pack, Julius Avery being one of them. He approaches every scene with a lot of urgency.
His camera work is fantastic. He’s by no means winging it. Every scene was approached with a lot of care. He also gives us a considerable amount of surprisingly great gore. If you saw Overlord, you know that he’s very good at that. The other is the acting. Alex Esso, for instance, is really good in the movie, and I’m so happy to see her get bigger roles like this.
| Title | The Pope’s Exorcist |
|---|---|
| Director | Maurizio Zaccaro |
| Release year | 2021 |
| Genre | Horror, Thriller |
| Cast | Franco Nero, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Federico Castelluccio |
| Plot | Father Peter, a priest with unorthodox methods, is summoned to the Vatican to assist in exorcisms. He clashes with the Vatican hierarchy, but his unconventional approach is the only hope for a young girl possessed by an evil spirit. |
| Themes | Faith, redemption, good vs. evil |
| Reviews | Mixed reviews; some praised its suspenseful storytelling and strong performances, while others criticized its lack of originality and reliance on tired horror tropes. |
I’ve liked her ever since Starry Eyes, and she showed up in a lot of other films
I liked, and most recently, Midnight Mass, the series from Mike Flanagan. And I think this is the biggest movie she’s ever been a part of. She plays the mother of a possessed child, so that’s a lot of opportunity to show her range. And I think she’s great in the movie. But the real reason to see the film is Russell Crowe. And that’s why I’m talking about this movie, because in my opinion, he saved this movie.
I mean, he is really, really good in it and very, very entertaining. He plays a character that’s obviously based off of a real priest. William Friedkin even did a film about him, and he’s presented as a priest who does occasionally curse. He likes to poke fun at people. He carries whiskey underneath his cloth.
He tells a lot of jokes and his excuse is that the devil doesn’t like jokes, but during the more intense scenes, he’s fantastic. And honestly, he held this movie together. And it’s not that Julius Avery lost the movie. I think he did a really good job with the film.
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It’s just that the story has been done many times before and you’re going to see a stockpile of various demonic and exorcism cliches. And because of Avery’s excellent sense with the camera as well as pacing, this movie ended up being a lot more entertaining than I thought it was going to be. Like I said, this is by no means going to be the next classic. In fact, the film tries to set up a sequel and I would be surprised if it happened.
I don’t see this becoming a thing that people are begging for more of. But I do think if you are a fan of Exorcism movies and you’ve watched a lot of really bad, boring ones, this will stand out.
I do think this will be one that you appreciate more than the rest. But don’t expect the Exorcist or the Exorcist three or The Exorcism of Emily Rose, because the film does not reach those heights. But for the trailer that I saw and immediately dismissed, the film is leagues better than I thought it would be.
