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It's hard to watch a movie called The Exorcist and not immediately think of William Friedkin's immortal, Oscar-winning 1973 horror classic, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. However, dozens of films of all kinds have tried to bring their magic to this subgenre, but none of them managed to top what Friedkin and screenwriter William Peter Blatty created with this brilliant film.
Now, however, with a slight twist, we have a new entry, The Exorcist of the Popes , which hopes to captivate audiences with the promise of a story about a real exorcist, not just your run-of-the-mill demon slayer. but Father Gabriele Amort, who practiced his profession in the Vatican for 36 years and was chief exorcist there from 1992 until his death in 2016. He also wrote books on the side – "good ones," as this movie The Exorcist notes. Tells his stories. and An Exorcist: More Stories , which served as the basis for the film's script, which also made sense in giving Russell Crowe a clear, colorful, and determined portrayal of Amorth that shares the many facets and varied stories of his "exorcisms". " ".
Lest you think this is a biopic focused on actual events, think again or just wait until the credits roll to find out that "this is fiction" with characters unlike any other. living or dead person. So writer-director Julius Avery invented a story more familiar to the horror genre, centered around the demonic possession and subsequent exorcism of a young man named Henry. But before we get to that, we see Amort perform another exorcism, one that puts him in hot water (which he's used to), with a harsh Vatican Council questioning his methods, particularly the way how he turns on people with mental illness or mental health problems. . . . to challenge the "devil in them". As mentioned, Amort typically escalates 98% of these cases to healthcare professionals, but 2% stand out (and of course they will be successful).
We continue to sunny Spain, where we meet a seemingly normal American family, but here we come to a remote, run-down and abandoned abbey that Julia (Alex Esso), recently widowed, inherited from the family estate from her last husband. . It's definitely a house in need of repairs, and restoration work begins when she arrives with her son Henry (Peter DeSouza Feigoni) and troubled teenage daughter Amy (Laurel Marsden), who are unhappy that their lives will change after the move . in a dark place. and such a scary monster in a foreign land. It gets even scarier as this place seems to have a long history and the demons inside are about to awaken.
When Henry shows signs of truly horrible behavior, a new priest, Father Esquibel (Daniel Zovatto), is sent to watch over him. What he notices exceeds his salary level, and soon the Vatican sends Amort down the street on his scooter. Despite his initial skepticism, he is soon dismayed by what he sees and is now convinced it is the devil's work, probably another 2%. It becomes much harder to figure out, and Amorth finds himself down a slippery slope into the past and back into deep-seated secrets with the help of a young priest and the support of the Pope (veteran Franco Nero), who gets more than he bargained for . .from the church. .
Unlike Friedkin's The Exorcist, in which Max von Sydow had to exorcise demons from the insane Linda Blair, this is about the phenomenon of multiple ownership up to the Pope. Avery does what it's worth, and it's certainly going to be taken on its own terms.
By giving us a clear characterization of the unpredictable Amorth, Crowe is a godsend (sorry) for this film and becomes the only true beacon of credibility in a fairly Hollywood-ready approach to the subject. I wanted to know more about the real Amorth and also watch a documentary that shows him doing a real exorcism (you know, the kind where they don't have a 24/7 special effects team). Week). Anyhow, I found this film quite interesting and certainly well done, with excellent cinematography by Khalid Mohtaseb and excellent design by Alan Gilmour.
Produced by Doug Belgrade, Michael Patrick Kaczmarek and Jeff Katz. Sony is only releasing Screen Gems in theaters on Friday.
Title: Papal Exorcist Distribution: Sony Pictures Release date: April 14, 2023 Director: Julius Avery Writers: Michael Petroni, Evan Spiliotopoulos (written by R. Dean McCreary, Chester Hastings and Jeff Katz) Cast: Russell Crowe, Daniel Zovatto, Alex Essoe , Franco Nero, Laurel Marsden, Peter DeSouza Feighoney, Carrie Munro Rating: R Duration: 1 hour 43 minutes
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