The Exorcism Review, Crowe Gets Severely Possessed

Russell Crowe plays another priest in a horror movie about possession in The Exorcism 2024. This time around, he plays an actor. Fortunately for the film director Joshua John Miller (The Final Girls) touches the title with some well-thought-out gloves. The story is a highlight for the film straying away from the norm by utilising a nuance not normally found in the movies we see. Rather The Exorcism takes a concept that thespians and the media talk about from time to time, which is an actor’s ability to immerse into their role. what if accepting the sins of your past to relate to the sins of others, opened you up to the Devil?

The story follows Anthony Miller, a washed-up actor who is trying to break back into show business after the death of his wife and subsequent foray into all things that eff yourself up. His daughter had been away at school until a mishap with some paint landed her on her father’s door. Their relationship is on a slippery slope, having been left to be the caretaker of her ailing dad, she now calls him Tony much to his chagrin.

The setup for The Exorcism is another excellent feature of this modern horror movie. If you ever wanted to get an inside view of a movie set, this is a film that does that. The set holds a spliced view of the inside of a 4 story building where the movie about Father Amorth is being shot.

Tap Into Your Irredeemable Soul

He hires his daughter as his assistant who gets front-row seats to his emasculation as the director, Peter, played by Adam Goldberg berates him. It’s in these moments we get the backstory of just how far down the rabbit hole Tony had been. Peter talks to him on set often, while insisting he knows the part inside himself that he needs to tap into.

While Anthony wants to do well with the part, his childhood trauma as a victim of molestation within the church arm becomes a factor. Flashbacks fill the screen frequently to fill in any gaps about his past which causes him to relapse back to the bottle disguising the symptoms of a real-life possession. Possession disguised by mental illness is a much-used plot device for possession films and The Exorcism movie has the life drained out of it by reverting back to this premise.

The scary scenes are prefaced by the emotional torment of Lee in both her past and her present as she tries to navigate having access to the upper fringe of Hollywood. As Anthony shows more and more unusual behavior, Lee passes it off as part of his relapse. The idea of actors being able to tap into a persona on set and having this aspect the pivotal turning point for a possession film was a great idea. Leaning back into the familiar prop of not being able to tell the difference between possession and mental illness was disappointing given the strength of the cast.

An additional priest played by David Hyde Pierce (The Perfect Host), Father Connor was an exciting find in The Exorcism. For Mother of Movies, this actor is great in a horror film. Anthony’s daughter has plenty of character arcs too. Played by Ryan Simpkins, Lee’s role shines in line with the abused widowed alcoholic role from Russell Crowe.

Most people will enjoy The Exorcism 2024 for its unique swing in a sub-genre that feels overused. Horror movie fans will get a kick out of the storyline despite the fall back into familiar territory. The ending of The Exorcism feels slightly rushed but a novel approach to the idea of how to rid oneself of a demon entity. The story really isn’t about the Demon in this film.

Directed by: Joshua John Miller and distributed by Vertical Entertainment.
Starring: Russell Crowe, Ryan Simpkins, Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg & David Hyde Pierce.

The film was acquired as a screener for editorial purposes. Check the below information for where and when you can watch this great title for yourself.

The Exorcism 2024 Trailer and Where to Watch

The Exorcism 2024 is streaming on: