Russell Crowe is back again on the screen. As a fan of Crowe, I was excited when I saw the trailer for this movie. Though his last movie 'Poker Face (2022)' didn't really impress me that much because I was disappointed with the movie, but this movie just renewed my love for his work as an actor.
I know the name of this movie can make some people not have high expectations for this movie being that there have been a lot of movies on exorcism and you have seen it all. It's the same stunts, the same possession stages, the injury, the floating in the air, the blasphemy, the unbelievable body twist, and so on. But let me assure you that this movie brings to the table something unique and something we are not used to seeing in movies like this.
The Pope Exorcist (2023) is directed by Julius Avery the filmmaker behind 'Overlord (2018)' and 'Samaritan (2022)'. It is an American supernatural horror film that was adapted from two books written by Father Gabriele Amorth. This movie was written by Evan Spiliotopoulos and Michael Petroni starring Russell Crowe as Father Amorth with Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, Alex Essoe, Daniel Zovatto, and Franco Nero.
Summary Of The Plot.
The movie was set in 1987, when Father Amorth, the Pope's personal exorcist, visited a village in Italy while riding his scooter where it was reported that a young man had been possessed by a demon. The local priest of the village led Amorth to the house where the young pissed boy lives. Using the Saint Benedict Medal sacramental, Amorth was able to trigger the Demon ego which made it easier for him to exorcize the young boy successfully. Amorth cast the Demon into a pig and then immediately the pig was shot in the head.
A month later, Father Amorth's brutal act with the pig got reported to his superiors by the local priest of the village which got Amorth in trouble with the church tribunal superiors. Among the tribunal superiors, one of them bishop Lumumba was friendly with Amorth but the rest of the tribunal and Cardinal Sullivan kicked against Amorth's unorthodox ways saying evil doesn't exist. Irritated with the accusations, Amorth left their presence without being dismissed.
On the other hand in Castile, Spain, a widow, Julia who lost her husband in a car accident a year ago moved temporarily to Spain with her two children Amy and Henry to take possession of a mysterious old Spanish abbey which was inherited by her husband. Julia intends to renovate the abbey, sell it to the church, and then move back to America. As the construction workers were doing their work, Henry decided to explore the Abbey and at the end of the day, he got possessed by an unknown entity.
Upon hearing this report, The Pope summoned Father Amorth to visit the Abbey and see to the situation. The local priest in Castiles, Father Tomas Esquibel had already tried to attend to possessed Henry and failed woefully. Upon the. request for a priest by the Demon inside Henry, Father Amorth arrived, and from there on mysteries that can't be predicted by viewers begin to unravel. Will Father Amorth be successful? Will Henry come out of this situation alive?
Characters.
Peter DeSouza-Feighoney as Henry
I must commend Peter for his outstanding performance in this movie being that this movie was his film debut. Peter acted as Julia's son. He was the boy that was possessed by the Demon, Asmodeus. I see a bright future for this boy in the industry later on. He was able to maintain his spotlight well and one could hardly tell that it was his first time as a professional actor.
Alex Essoe As Julia
Alex acted as a mother who needed spiritual help with her son. Her role was essential to the plot of the movie and she acted like a mother who sees her child suffering from that kind of situation. Her performance was engaging and very relatably natural. Any mother watching the movie could easily relate with her.
Daniel Zovatto As Father Esquibel
Daniel marked his return to the horror genre when he joined the cast of this movie. He acted as an inexperienced priest who knows nothing about exorcism. His performance was average for me, I didn't really feel his presence in the movie until almost the tail end when he stole the spotlight from Father Amorth. Though his role is essential to the plot of the movie, he was still easily forgotten in the movie.
Russell Crowe As Father Gabriele Amorth
Saving the best for the last. Crowe was the magic of this movie. In my opinion, he saved this movie from being categorized as a B-class movie. Earlier in this post, I said this movie is unique, Crowe is the reason. He was very good with his performance, he was entertaining to watch and fun. He acts as a priest who occasionally likes to curse and tell jokes just to make people laugh. He is a practical priest who doesn't follow the rules and prefers his unorthodox ways, he carries whisky underneath his cloth, and during intense scenes, he holds it together like a champ. I will just say that Julius Avery chose his cast well.
My Review And Rating.
Seeing the trailer for this movie, I thought it would be like the other exorcism movies I have watched before, but this one stands out on its own with its unique entertaining features. Julius Avery did a fantastic job with this, even though the plot of the movie is cliché and boring. Avery brought his gore spice to this movie. If you watched "Overlord" (2018), you will know what I am talking about. He approaches every scene in this movie meticulously and with care.
The plot arrangement was good, there was no space for boring stuff. The flow was so good that the viewers could see a lot going on and also an unexpected mystery unveiling. The location was beautiful for me. The scenery was amazing. The CGI, I had a problem with that and I think it's a big flaw in this movie. The CGI was not done by professionals, but the camera work was excellent.
Overall, this movie is a great supernatural horror film. It was fast-paced, the soundtrack was carefully select and it was an excellent choice that they used musics from the 80's. Though, this movie belongs in the horror genre, I found the movie funny and entertaining. I had some good laughs about this movie but then, I am used to horror films that I don't get easily scared anymore. So if you get triggered easily do not watch this movie.
Rating this movie, I will give it 4 out of 5 stars. I will recommend it to horror lovers, and supernatural lovers and I won't recommend children should watch the movie because of tons of profanities and gore.
All images above are from the movie screenshots
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