Movie Review: THE EXORCISM

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: June 21st, 2024 / 03:35 AM

THE EXORCISM movie poster | ©2024 Vertical Entertainment/Miramax

Rating: R
Stars: Russell Crowe, Ryan Simpkins, Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg, Adrian Pasdar, David Hyde Pierce
Writers: M.A. Fortin & Joshua John Miller
Director: Joshua John Miller
Distributor: Vertical Entertainment/Miramax
Release Date: June 21, 2024

THE EXORCISM has an opening sequence that makes us chuckle, then yelp. For most of its running time, it commendably walks the tightrope between filmmaking lore, meta commentary and straight-up horror.

For those who may be understandably confused, THE EXORCISM stars Russell Crowe, but it is not connected legally, in plotline or in tone to that other recent Crowe vehicle, 2023’s THE POPE’S EXORCIST (which reportedly is set to become a franchise).

THE EXORCISM is, however, mischievously related to, yeah, what you think it might be related to, although everyone is careful never to utter that other film’s title (except in a list of genre films that someone rattles off).

The set-up is that Anthony “Tony” Miller (Crowe), a one-time superstar whose career has been brought low by alcohol and drugs, is given two shots of redemption, more or less simultaneously.

On a personal level, Tony gets the chance to prove that he can be a decent father to his sixteen-year-old daughter Lee (Ryan Simpkins), who has come home after being kicked out of boarding school.

On a professional level, Tony is cast as the main priest – he’s the second choice, after what happens at the start – in a film being made under the code name THE GEORGETOWN PROJECT. This isn’t what that movie is really called, but of course, again, nobody says it out loud. That’s certainly one way to get around copyright.

THE EXORCISM has a lot of fun with the notion of cursed film productions, as well as keeping us guessing for a while as to what’s going to happen to whom. Besides Tony and Lee, major figures include GEORGETOWN’s leading young lady Blake (Chloe Bailey), Tony’s slightly intimidated costar Joe (Sam Worthington), Catholic technical advisor Father Conor (David Hyde Pierce), and the film’s director Peter (Adam Goldberg), who is such a jerk that demonic possession might be redundant.

Director Joshua John Miller (son of original THE EXORCIST star Jason Miller), who co-wrote the script with M.A. Fortin, is good at setting up eerie spaces and a creepy tone. He also stages at least one great kill.

Miller and Crowe are both sensitive to carefully depicting when Tony is on his game as an actor and as a person, and when he’s going numb or sideways. Simpkins invites empathy as the understandably concerned Lee, and Pierce provides warmth and humor as the resident priest.

But ultimately, it seems that THE EXORCISM has to veer toward either self-parody or exorcist genre tradition. There may be a way that the filmmakers could have kept splitting the difference, but what that might be is not readily apparent. We therefore can’t really blame the movie for opting to play it straight in the climax. So, we eventually wind up where we expect we will, but there are enjoyable surprises along the way.

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