THE EXORCISM (2024) MOVIE REVIEW
Russell Crowe goes for seconds in the "Procession Horror" genre, this time playing a washed-up actor, looking to make his big comeback in an exorcism thriller. However, life starts to imitate art in very horrific fashion...
by Nate Lemann
The phrase goes, “if you gave me a nickel for every time Russell Crowe stared in a religious possession horror film within a 14 month span, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot but is odd it happened twice”. Following last year’s pulpy horror “The Pope’s Exorcist”, Crowe dips his feet back in the water for a more nuanced and psychologically rich horror thriller. Crowe plays disgraced actor Anthony Miller, who has been getting his life back in order following his wife’s death and his subsequent bender. He has a strained relationship with his daughter Lee (Ryan Simpkins), who still bears terrible a grudge against “Tony” for what he put her and her dead mother through.
After getting kicked out of school, Lee has to work on the set of Tony’s big comeback: “Georgetown”, a meta remake of “The Exorcist” (this film's director Joshua John Miller is the son of one of that famed film’s stars, Jason Miller). Tony wasn’t the first choice to play the priest figure in this film, though. Original star Tom (Adrian Pasdar) met a grisly ending while prepping for the film. His death lends the whole set a cursed feeling. As Tony works hard at nailing his comeback, Lee starts to notice him exhibiting ever-growing odd behavior, at first blaming these instances on a relapse but coming to learn a more sinister force may be affecting her troubled father.
Miller and DP Simon Duggan set a tone so masterfully, filling the eery house set the film is using with a dark eminence and dread. Miller plays with the folk horror stories of cursed movie sets. Hollywood has a long history with movies covering more taboo topics drawing the wrath of God…or the devil. Especially given Miller’s history, the film has a very meta feel to it that serves it well.
Crowe is really great in this, one of the better performances I think he’s delivered since “The Nice Guys”. Simpkins is pretty good here, playing the edge of their strained relationship well. Adam Goldberg and Sam Worthington both provide some fun playful parts in this as members of the film team (Goldberg a shithead, abusive director; Worthington a self-conscious actor). David Hyde Pierce is the real standout. He plays the religious consultant priest who has a deep well of compassion and empathy that just hums off the screen. He is both haunted and stubbornly rational. A masterful performance reminding us of his great talent.
While the back-half may fall off a bit, this is still a wildly fun entry in Crowe’s growing exorcist oeuvre.
FINAL RATING: 3.5/5 (By the numbers possession horror with fun meta setting)
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