'The Exorcism' Review: Russell Crowe Is Back on His Demon-Fighting Schtick (2024)

You would not be blamed for being confused about the existence of The Exorcism. The poster shows Russell Crowe donning the collar and holding up a cross, so it’s a natural assumption to think this is a follow-up to last year’s religious horror movie The Pope’s Exorcist, in which Crowe starred as the titular priest. Then you watch the trailer and see that it’s about the filming of a movie in which a priest must exorcise a demon out of a teenage girl’s body. Is this a riff on The Exorcist!? The connection to the 1973 horror game-changer is only reinforced once you learn that The Exorcism is directed by Joshua John Miller, son of Jason Miller who played Father Karras in The Exorcist—confused yet?

But no, this movie is an entirely stand-alone venture. Yes, it absolutely winks an eye at The Exorcist and many other ‘70s horror movies. The presence of producer Kevin Williamson is felt because as what Scream did for the slasher genre, The Exorcism is trying to do for religious horror movies. Emphasis on “trying.” The Exorcism has a fun concept that most horror lovers will enjoy, but unlike Scream, it can’t find its footing between comedy and horror, and right in the middle is Crowe giving one of his most heavy-handed performances to date.

What Is 'The Exorcism' About?

Crowe’s Anthony Miller (a very on-the-nose nod to the director's father) is an actor past his peak, haunted by the death of his wife which led him to alcoholism and drug addiction, creating a tension-filled relationship with his teenage daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins). Lee has been suspended from school so she is accompanying her father on the set of “The Georgetown Project” (which The Exorcism was originally titled and should have stayed as). “The Georgetown Project” has the exact same plot as The Exorcist; a troubled priest is asked to save a teenage girl (Chloe Bailey) from the vicious demon that has possessed her. The only reason Anthony gets the part is because, as we see in the opening scene, the original actor died under suspicious circ*mstances on set.

As the film’s production starts under the direction of Peter (Adam Goldberg having the most fun out of anyone), the role starts to take its toll on Anthony. He has a deep distrust of priests after a traumatic experience from his days as an altar boy, extending to Father Conor (David Hyde Pierce) who has been hired to consult on the film. As The Exorcism mentions, the sets of horror movies like The Omen and The Exorcist were haunted, and it seems “The Georgetown Project” is no different. Something has possessed Anthony, and learning his lines becomes the least of his troubles.

'The Exorcism' Has a Fun Concept But Doesn’t Execute It Well

As said before, there is a really fun idea at the center of The Exorcism. There are plenty of meta jokes that feel straight out of a Scream film. When the egotistical and obnoxious Peter is describing his film at the pre-production party, he tells anyone who can listen that it’s a “psychological drama wrapped in the skin of a horror movie,” riffing on recent trends of horror movies trying to claim they aren’t one. When something is clearly wrong with Anthony that goes beyond what we know of this world, his colleagues dismiss it as him going too method. It's also given a personal touch as Miller is framing Anthony as an extension of his own father and his role in The Exorcist. The first half runs on the steam of this meta-comedy, but it loses all speed when it tries to become a dense, dark, and heavy horror drama. Miller has proven he's a natural with satire and blending horror with comedy as seen in his script for 2015's The Final Girls. But around halfway through The Exorcism, it abandons everything it's been setting up to give way to formulaic and stale scare sequences.

There are glimmers of modern ideas that the movies it references couldn’t deal with, such as Anthony’s sexual assault at the hands of a Catholic priest when he was a kid. However, it shows him still going to confession and the movie doesn’t dive deeper into what it must be like for those devout to their religion who experienced unimaginable evil at the hands of the very people they were told to trust most. The film becomes so hellbent on trying to scare you and make possessed Anthony into a terrifying villain that it forgets about all of the themes and ideas it presents in the first half. Faith and the divide between good and evil are kind of prerequisites for movies like these, but The Exorcism can't be bothered to explore them. You start to realize how seriously this movie takes itself, a stark contrast to the meta-comedy that makes the first act so enthralling.

Miller’s direction and scare tactics simply don’t match this subgenre of horror. The classic jump scares are created out of loud, obnoxious pangs of the score and the grim, bleak lighting that is meant to create atmosphere just cheapens the entire production, resembling a forgotten 2000s remake. The intensity with which the film tries to scare you doesn’t match the somewhat silly idea that the movie is founded on. The atmosphere and overall feel of the film become an attempt at an Ari Aster movie but with none of the rich characters and themes to make it work.

'The Exorcism' Doesn't Match Up to Other Recent Religious Horror Movies

Anthony’s possession is seemingly meant to mirror Regan’s in The Exorcist. Instead of a fresh twist on the “young girl gets possessed and needs to be saved by an adult,” it makes for some bizarre and downright uncomfortable moments. Anthony lingers licking on his own daughter's hand as she gives him his meds and when the demon has fully taken over, he makes outrageous sexual comments towards her as well as using hom*ophobic slurs. For a film that is seemingly trying to take a modern approach to ‘70s horror, moments like this send it all the way back to the dark ages. On top of that, his own daughter has to watch him appear naked, and, in a nod to an early scene in The Exorcist, urinate on himself. It’s creepy but for all the wrong reasons. Top this off with an egregious comment from Peter about Anthony's sexual assault, and you have some of the most outrageously callous dialogue in recent horror.

With so many recent religious horror hits, from Immaculate which sees the horrors of how women are treated within the Catholic Church to The First Omen examining the parallels between the evils of the Church and the entities that it claims to protect us from, The Exorcism feels even more outdated. Like The Exorcist: Believer, there’s a grotesque mention of abortion for no reason and there’s an unignorable pro-Catholic Church message. Instead of dissecting Anthony’s complicated relationship with priests and his faith, it hails Father Conor as the ultimate hero, shedding the film of any nuance in its conversations around faith.

Russell Crowe’s Performance in 'The Exorcism' Doesn't Match the Movie’s Tone

As much as this writer detested The Pope’s Exorcist, it can’t be denied that Russell Crowe was having a lot of fun in that movie — the image of him riding a moped in full priest getup is a gift in itself. Here, however, his heavy-handed and overly somber performance doesn’t go in line with the meta concept of the film. Sure, he’s a struggling actor past his prime who has gone through considerable trauma, but Crowe doesn’t let us see past those aspects of Anthony. He’s defined by his dark past and The Exorcism makes the fatal (and very common mistake) of asking the audience to invest in a character it doesn’t bother to fully form. Simpkin’s Lee ends up carrying the film to the end, aided by her sweet romance with Bailey’s Blake. The film landed two great actors for its supporting roles, Sam Worthington and David Hyde Pierce. For the star of two of the highest-grossing movies of all time, Worthington is given shockingly little to do. Pierce is confident in the role of the good-natured priest, but when his character seems to go against the ideas the film presents, it's hard to separate it from the performance.

The Exorcism seems to be a capitalization on the recent surge in interest in religious horror movies. Instead of being a remake, requel, or reboot, it set out to do something different while paying tribute to the ‘70s religious horror greats. It’s a commendable idea when the horror genre is inundated with uninspiring retreads of former glory. However, a fun concept does not automatically mean a quality film, as the overly intense direction, hollow scares, and imbalance of tone make it a thrown-together mess.

REVIEW

The Exorcism (2024)

The Exorcism has an interesting idea at its core but ultimately falls victim to its self-seriousness and empty scares.

510

Pros

• The meta quality of its concept makes for some fun jabs at the horror genre.

Cons

• The Exorcism abandons all the interesting ideas it sets up in the first act to give way to drab scare sequences.
• Russell Crowe gives a much less enlightened performance than his last horror venture.

The Exorcism comes to theaters in the U.S. starting June 21.

Get Tickets