THE POPE’S EXORCIST *** USA / UK / Spain 2023 Dir: Julius Avery. 103 mins
Horror filmmakers have attempted to replicate the phenomenal cultural success of The Exorcist since its release in 1973. Some have come close to achieving this accolade, including The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) and the found-footage entry, The Last Exorcism (2010). The possession sub-genre has even spawned a few phenomenally financially successful franchises (Insidious, The Conjuring), but no single film has ever caught the imagination as fully as William Friedkin’s masterpiece.
Julius Avery made a splash with his gratuitous, splat-gore zombie war-thriller Overlord in 2018. With The Pope’s Exorcist, Avery is taking aim at more established, but controversial, topics of religious mythology and possession.
In 1987, the Pope (Franco Nero) sends his chief exorcist, Father Gabriel Amorth (Russell Crowe) to investigate a strange case of possession of a young boy. Amorth is joined by a younger priest, Father Esquibel (Daniel Zovatto), and together they battle the demon and discover a centuries-long secret that could destroy the Vatican.
Avery’s approach to The Pope’s Exorcist is astute, following the highly lucrative template established by the financial juggernaut that is the Conjuring franchise. His focus on the “true” files of an actual Catholic Priest is reminiscent of the “based on true events” promised by protagonists Ed and Lorraine Warren. The fact that the Warrens have been proven to be fraudsters and hoaxers, notwithstanding. Avery also shrewdly aligned himself with two screenwriters who have created relatively successful possession/exorcism scripts, Michael Petroni, The Rite (2011) and Evan Spiliotopolous, The Unholy (2021). But without question, the biggest masterstroke of The Pope’s Exorcist‘s approach, is the choice of subject, Father Amorth himself. Amorth even caught the eye of William Friedkin, who filmed the clergyman for a documentary, The Devil and Father Amorth. The gregarious and enchanting man of the cloth would have had numerous tall tales to tell, once boasting to have successfully completing “100, 000 exorcisms” and enjoyed the company of an obviously undoubting audience.
Russell Crowe portrays the holy man with an unvarnished charisma, a staple of the Australian actor, subverting the traditional view of religious fundamentalists and creating a very amiable human character. Crowe also playfully pulls off the often-misplaced humour and the interactions with fellow priest Esquibel (Daniel Zovatto) easily could have devolved into a simplistic buddy-cop trope, but the chemistry between the actors ground the performances. Amorth is a cynical, almost sceptical, character, while Esquibel is a more naive, devoted follower of the Catholic status quo. The storyline plays out like a religious adventure a’ la The Da Vinci Code, whilst Crowe exudes a James Bond-like bravado, which makes for a fun, fresh approach to the sub-genre. Crowe’s abysmal attempt at an Italian accent, however, is truly shocking, but at least it is a slight improvement on his voice-work in Thor: Love and Thunder.
The cinematography by Khalid Mohtaseb is also noteworthy and commendable. The movement and positioning of the camera creates a claustrophobic, menacing, but mischievous mood, creating a feeling of seeing the events from the point of view of the clandestine demon. The atmosphere feels oppressive and bristling with threat.
The plot and story of The Pope’s Exorcist does unfortunately become incredibly self-serving and predictable, with the gruff priest refusing to pass the torch to the younger man and the final twist of the Vatican’s secret feeling disingenuous and even disrespectful to the memory of those who were actually affected by the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition.
Father Amorth once told The Sunday Telegraph- “You must always go to the doctor before you go to the exorcist…” I could not agree more. There is nothing too offensive about The Pope’s Exorcist, but there is no reason to search any further than the classic The Exorcist, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2023, for an exhilarating, shocking and petrifying exorcism film.
Review by Louis Du Toit