The Pope’s Exorcist – REVIEW

The Pope’s Exorcist comes before the release of the October 2023 redux version of The Exorcist based on the original 1973 Willian Friedken movie and its (count them) seven spinoffs. Obviously, the Devil can’t be contained in Hell.

Russell Crowe plays Father Gabriele Amorth, a chirpy member of the inner Vatican circle who’s on the outs with the ruling body due to his, well, exorcisms. But then he’s summoned to an evil abbey in Spain where an American family arrives after the death of their patriarch in a car accident a year previous. The mother Julia, veteran horror movie actress Alex Essoe, surly teenage daughter Amy (Laurel Marsden) and young son Henry (Peter DeSouza-Feighoney), have apparently inherited the decrepit pile and plan to renovate and sell it. As you would.

But the Antichrist intervenes when a workman breaks through a wall and allows pure evil to escape. Latching onto young Henry, who hasn’t spoken since his father died in that car accident, the Prince of Darkness spews blood and bile (and a gruesome internal organ), and naturally terrifies the local priest.

Luckily, Father Amorth is only a 16-hour motor scooter trip from Beelzebub’s HQ which served as a site for the Spanish Inquisition in the 1400s. Although the Archfiend manages to serve up guilt trips on Amorth and the priest, after much flamethrowing, body slamming and grim growling from the possessed Henry about the end of days, the Antichrist is put back in his crypt and Amorth and the priest return to a hero’s welcome from the Pope.

Apparently, the story is based on the claims in the countless books written by the real Father Amorth who acted as the Pope’s Exorcist for 30 years, in which he asserted he carried out over 60,000 exorcisms. He also believed Hitler and Satan were possessed and made headlines in 2012 for asserting paedophilic cults operated within the Vatican. This of course was very likely true, but he wasn’t a fan of popular culture either, believing Harry Potter and yoga were gateways to hell.

Russell Crowe plays the exorcist with his usual terrific acting chops in a fruity Italian accent, and the Pope and advisors (and the local priest) luckily speak in English. The screenplay, co-written by Michael Petroni, (The Book Thief) and directed by Julius Avery (Son Of Gun, Overlord), are, along with Russell, an Australian trio. If you throw in, or in the case of Lucifer, spew out, the demonic supernatural Conjuring Universe created by ex-local James Wan, it’s obvious we need a severe case of exorcism back home.

★★

In cinemas now