The Pope's Exorcist (2023)

2 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Superdemonic

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

The demon possession stuff in this movie we've seen before, but The Pope's Exorcist gets a pass for Russell Crowe's committed, not-too-serious performance, cool and in charge, but also sometimes charmingly goofy.

Father Gabriele Amorth (Russell Crowe) is shown to be a controversial figure in the church, using unlikely methods to treat people who don't actually need a real exorcist. But when widow Julia (Alex Essoe) and her two children — teen Amy (Laurel Marsden) and younger brother Henry (Peter DeSouza-Feighoney) — move into a grand Spanish abbey, which was left to them by Julia's late husband, real trouble is unleashed.

A demon is released and takes over Henry's body. Amorth is summoned, and, along with Spanish priest Father Esquibel (Daniel Zovatto) begin the exorcising rituals. But this demon is unexpectedly powerful, with the ability to see the sins and guilt of the priests and knock them off balance. They must find the secret of the old abbey, and the name of the demon, before it's too late.

Based on books by the real-life Gabriele Amorth, Julius Avery's The Pope's Exorcist misses a chance to capture the "based-on-actual-events" eeriness of The Conjuring, preferring generic horror movie stuff instead. We get satanic voices emanating from children, crosses that turn upside-down, people thrown across rooms, demonic writing on flesh, etc. (There is, however, a fascinating twist explaining the reason behind the Catholic Church's involvement in a certain period of history.)

Yet it's the A-list casting of Crowe that makes this worth a look. Re-capturing some of the same energy of his Captain Jack Aubrey in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, his Father Amorth is immensely likable and comfortable in his own skin. He emits cool while riding his moped in his flowing robes and black fedora. He even finds time to crack little jokes, even in the face of danger. (Not to mention that he plays scenes with the legendary Franco Nero, the original Django, as the Pope!)

While the wrap-up of The Pope's Exorcist may be a little too rushed and a little too neat, it at least leaves open the possibility to see Amorth again someday.