FilmSnobReviews

Title:  The Pope’s Exorcist
MPA Rating: R
Director: Julius Avery
Starring: Russell Crowe, Daniel Zovatto, Alex Essoe
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins

What It Is: Father Gabriel Amorth (Crowe) is the official exorcist for the Vatican. A man who answers directly to his holiness the Pope. When a familiar demon returns…in a literal sense he decides to possess young Henry Vasquez (Peter DeSouza-Feighoney). Now it is up Father Amorth to do battle once again with this volatile demon…on his turf. You see the Vasquez’ have moved into an estate that’s of some significance to the Catholic church. With the help of a younger Spanish priest Father Tomás Esquibel (Zovatto) they’ll try to exorcise this demon once and for all.

What We Think: Let me get my biggest surprise about this film out of the way. This soundtrack BANGS. Violent Femmes, The Cult, AND Faith No More…nicely done. It needs that soundtrack because the story is an absolute mess. Russell Crowe plays an Italian priest and his accent is terrible. When he has to speak to the Spanish priest (played by a Costa Rican actor) it might just be at its worst. It’s always nice to see Alex Essoe in a horror project. This is where she tends to shine, and while this script doesn’t give her much to do.

Our Grade: D+, Dude I don’t even know what this movie is. It isn’t QUITE a horror film but, like, it kinda is. It isn’t quite a thriller but it is somewhat thrilling in some aspects, especially towards the end. Russell Crowe is pretty terrible and quite frankly he was not the best choice for this role. There are many MANY actors who could’ve been chosen for this role….and yet…here he is being awful in yet another role. He isn’t helped by the writing but at this point in his career I can’t solely blame that. This is a big skip but I don’t think it ever had a prayer to start.