The Exorcism, 2024.
Directed by Joshua John Miller.
Starring Russell Crowe, Ryan Simpkins, Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg, David Hyde Pierce, Adrian Pasdar, Tracey Bonner, Samantha Mathis, Marcenae Lynette, Josh Warren, Hannah Black, Joya Joseph, Hallie Samuels, and Zach Padlo.
SYNOPSIS:
A troubled actor begins to exhibit a disruptive behavior while shooting a horror film. His estranged daughter wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play.
Early on in The Exorcism, Ryan Simpkins’ rebellious teenager Lee says to her father Anthony (some heavy family baggage has put her off from calling him dad, instead referring to him as Tony) that he is all wrong for his comeback acting role as a priest performing an exorcism. The joke here is twofold: the intimidating Russell Crowe isn’t necessarily the first person who comes to mind for such a role, and also the fact that he has already chewed the scenery playing an Italian priest last year in The Pope’s Exorcism.
Co-written and directed by Joshua John Miller (alongside screenwriter M.A. Fortin), The Exorcism is certainly self-aware, but for better or worse, it is also more ambitious than your standard possession future. Until the third act, the priority isn’t scares and horror but establishing a fractured father-daughter relationship and respective troubles and traumas. Lee has recently been kicked out of school for vandalizing her principal’s car, whereas Tony is sober and ready to work again following years-long benders of drinking, drugs, and chasing women in place of caring for his now-deceased terminally ill wife. Taking on the role of a priest is also given another layer with Tony’s former experience as an altar boy, with blunt hints at being sexually abused before escaping Catholicism.
After some brief auditioning, Tony is hired for the role. However, the film’s director, Peter (Adam Goldberg), only seems to have done so because that past will potentially bring out a stronger, more personal performance. That would be fine if he also weren’t a verbally abusive jerk without any concern for the emotional well-being of Tony, insulting him for not getting into character enough and, at one point, for having been abused by a priest in the past. It comes across as commentary on the cruelty and single-minded focus on art in which some directors steer a ship, but the material doesn’t cut nearly deep enough to make a profound impact.
That’s most likely because The Exorcism is also concerned with teasing the inevitable full-on possession of Tony (this is already a cursed project with the previous actor embodying the role mysteriously having shown up dead) and tossing in some occasional jump scares. What’s confounding here is that there are times when the film appears to be deconstructing and poking fun at these modern horror tropes or how generic exorcism movies can be but turns around and indulges in them anyway.
There are a handful of supporting characters ranging from an actual priest/psychological consultant played by David Hyde Pierce, making for an underexplored dynamic between him and Tony. Lee develops a friendship with the famous Blake (Chloe Bailey) playing the girl getting possessed in the film within the film. At one point, this suddenly turns into something romantic for barely a minute, mostly so demonic Tony has some insult ammunition, although it feels as if there was intended to be a deeper connection here that didn’t make it into the final version. Sam Worthington is also here as another actor in a fairly pointless and thankless role.
When The Exorcism eventually embraces horror fully, it is simultaneously darkly entertaining and conventionally disappointing. There is no denying a refreshing angle here with the bulky and physically commanding Russell Crowe as the source of possessed danger, inciting violence and mouthing off with the typical shocking sexual dialogue. Sometimes, his kills are also dementedly funny because of this unusual dynamic. However, anything compelling or substantial narratively that the film could have been building towards is shoved aside.
The Exorcism falls into the trappings it tries to approach differently and avoid. Even with unique ideas and genuinely engaging performances (Russell Crowe is committed here, both in human and demonic form), everything falls apart with no interest in doing anything of note with its meta commentary or themes of abuse and forgiveness.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
