Time: 103 Minutes
Age Rating: R16 – Violence, horror, sexual material & offensive language
Cast:
Russell Crowe as Father Gabriele Amorth
Daniel Zovatto as Father Esquibel
Alex Essoe as Julia Vasquez
Franco Nero as the Pope
Director: Julius Avery

The Pope’s Exorcist looked to be just another exorcism movie, though it caught my attention mainly because of Russell Crowe, who looked to be delivering an entertaining performance. Given the middling reviews I didn’t watch it in cinemas, but one day I decided to watch it on streaming and I’m glad that I did. It’s not exactly a good movie, but I got some enjoyment out of it.

The Pope’s Exorcist is apparently based on a real life exorcism, though like other possession movies supposedly based on a true life event, I treated that with a lot of scepticism. It is a very generic exorcism/possession movie which lacked any kind of effective scares. It’s not a compelling movie and isn’t interesting; it’s too silly to be disturbing, and yet not nearly campy enough. That said, there is still some fun to be had with it. The camp elements that are here are entertaining. It is kind of funny, most of it is unintentional, but there is definitely some intentional humour, mostly involving Russell Crowe. While the first two acts are mostly on autopilot, the third act is where the movie goes all out into B grade schlock, and it is incredibly entertaining. That’s the level I was hoping that the movie was mostly operating on. As for anything that’s outright bad, I will say that they kind of retcon something involving the Spanish Inquisition, which was certainly a choice, and probably a choice they really shouldn’t have gone with.

Russell Crowe is the star of the movie and honestly the main reason that a lot of people would decide to watch this movie. Delivering an over the top and hammy performance, paired with a thick Italian accent, he is very entertaining and lively, and chews up all the scenes he’s in. At the same time, he does still deliver when it comes to the more dramatic scenes. Crowe is very dedicated and committed to his part, and the movie really is worth watching for him. Daniel Zovatto is decent enough as the sidekick priest. Peter DeSouza-Feighoney goes all out as the child being possessed, to quite a commendable degree, even if it comes across as more campy than actually scary.

The movie is directed by Julius Avery who previously made Overlord. His work on The Pope’s Exorcist isn’t nearly as good, but it’s fine, and it does somewhat shine at certain points. There are some interesting shots, energetic and stylistic camerawork and even some creative set pieces. The CGI isn’t that great, and it becomes particularly over the top bad in the third act, but that comes around to being entertaining.

The Pope’s Exorcist is a very generic and silly possession horror movie, but is entertaining enough, helped by an enjoyable Russell Crowe performance. The end of the movie teased sequels and honestly, I would be on board with watching more movies if they decide to make them.