Rent The Pope's Exorcist (2023)
3.0 of 5 from 220 ratings
1h 39min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Inspired by the actual files of Father Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican (Russell Crowe), 'The Pope's Exorcist' follows Amorth as he investigates a young boy's terrifying possession and ends up uncovering a centuries-old conspiracy the Vatican has desperately tried to keep hidden.
- Actors:
- Russell Crowe, Daniel Zovatto, Alex Essoe, Franco Nero, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, Laurel Marsden, Cornell John, Ryan O'Grady, Bianca Bardoe, Santi Bayón, Paloma Bloyd, Alessandro Gruttadauria, River Hawkins, Jordi Collet, Carrie Munro, Marc Velasco, Edward Harper-Jones, Matthew Sim, Victor Solé, Tom Bonington
- Directors:
- Julius Avery
- Producers:
- Doug Belgrad, Michael Patrick Kaczmarek, Jeff Katz
- Voiced By:
- Ralph Ineson
- Writers:
- Michael Petroni, Evan Spiliotopoulos, R. Dean McCreary, Chester Hastings, Jeff Katz, Gabriele Amorth
- Studio:
- Sony
- Genres:
- Drama, Horror, Thrillers
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Reviews (3) of The Pope's Exorcist
Unoriginal Demonic Possession Horror - The Pope's Exorcist review by GI
The trouble here is that when you put 'Exorcist' in the title you know exactly what you're doing to get every devotee of The Exorcist (1973) either excited or groaning. And The Pope's Exorcist doesn't skimp on stealing well worn scenarios from William Friedkin's classic. So what you have here is a basic demonic possession potboiler, set in the 80s in a gloomy old Spanish chateau, so there's plenty of dark shadows and cobwebby rooms to have a jump scare or two, and a young mother brings her two children to Spain from The US to renovate her deceased husband's family estate. Unfortunately the house hides an evil and soon her young son is possessed by a demon. This prompts the Pope (Franco Nero) to despatch his number one exorcist, Gabriel played by Russell Crowe. This casting is the films strong point, his star charisma holds the film together where a lesser name and actor would have left it mostly laughable. But Crowe adds some seasoning even when the narrative veers into haunted house type territory. All the usual demonic possession tropes are here from vomiting up stuff, weird skin letters, gruff sweary voices etc etc and in that sense it's all fairly unoriginal. Supposedly this is based on the writings of the real Gabriel, a Vatican priest and expert but whatever the truth behind the story is what you have here is a routine horror that is watchable and then forgettable.
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from Gladiator...to this - The Pope's Exorcist review by SG
Russell Crowe doesnt need to to do this level of movie! He's copying de Niro's last part of his career by accepting any old straight-to-dvd films.
The Exorcist this is definitely not. It's based on a true story - but so was Barbie! Weaker than a cuppa from a cafe.
More cliches than you can bear, this is CGI heavy with little twists and turns to concentrate on.
His Italian accent is quite good tho, better than Dick van Dyke's for sure
4/10 Can do better. SEE ME
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Fun Romp as the Devil gets Typecast again. - The Pope's Exorcist review by RP
Now we need the head swivel. Check. Oh and the growly voice and the evil skin eruptions. Check. Oh and some plot of buried evil. Check. Poor old Devil looks at the script and says, here we go again. But then what is there to do but enjoy yourself and have fun. Not likely to give anybody sleepless nights but it is all done with a straight face and the heroes do their bit. The old Priest helped by the young inexperienced one. Mum and daughter, who despite living in a cold ruin insists on wearing shorts all the time. Are naturally asked to run and scream a bit. The young kid in bed asking if his agent is available.
Fun, pointless, repetitive and yet for all that worth it. Just like the old Hammer films. You end up not wanting to be too critical and just enjoy it.
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Critic review
The Pope's Exorcist review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso
The marketing for The Pope's Exorcist is the typical "true story" paranormal marketing. We get a boy possessed, a demon terrorizing, and a wear priest coming to the rescue despite his lapse in faith. What some people might not know is that this is a comedy. Well, not an intentional one.
The ridiculous nature can be felt immediately once Russell Crowe pops up as Father Gabriel Amorth. He doesn't take his job all that seriously when realizing the church doesn't fully believe in his methods. Favoring both theater and skepticism, Gabriel ruffles some feathers for being unconventional. He drinks a lot, cracks jokes, and gets around on a moped which is too rich for words.
He's the only Father for the job when the young Henry of Spain gets possessed. Henry's demon has a real mouth on him, especially with how he pranks his fearful family with miming voices and openly speaking of sex. When the first priest gets catapulted out of Henry's room and the demon remarks "wrong priest," I broke out in laughter. And it only gets more absurd from there.
This is the type of film where the screenwriter punched up the script with some jokes and just never stopped. The back and forth between Gabriel and Henry is comical almost by design. Perhaps it's why most modern paranormal exorcism movies tend to keep the dialogue to a minimum. The mismatched pairing of a quirky priest and acid-tongued demon makes for great comedy and it's something this movie can't turn away from.
Thankfully, the film doesn't try too hard for silliness. There are dark elements present, as when Gabriel is reminded of his war stories that ended in tragedy. He gets the standard hallucination of people lost, complete with spooky sounds and effects. It's not bad, but it also doesn't hold a candle to Gabriel's dad jokes and Henry's vile language. Even the other moments, such as a gas explosion, are staged in a manner that brings out the unprovoked laughs.
The Pope's Exorcist is a lot of fun, even if not all the expected moments of absurdity. The earnest nature of this exorcism tale bundled with the stylish direction makes the comical aspect an unexpected yet welcomed byproduct. Watch this one with a group of friends.