The shopworn title makes it sound like just another schlocky horror flick, but ‘The Pope’s Exorcist” uses subtle wisecracks and a heavy presence from Russell Crowe to make it worth a watch, even as it misses landing anywhere near the top shelf of 2023 movies.
Set in the present, in Vatican City, Plump Crowe answers only to THE top dog of the church, much to the dismay of a panel of Bishops, Cardinals, etc. who fundamentally disagree with Crow; he thinks that many, if not most “possessions” are forms of mental illness and it seems like old fashioned exorcisms have gone the way pf bell-bottomed jeans.
But he is a believer, and when a special case comes before the Pope, Crowe is quickly dispatched to Spain.
An American family of three (a recently widowed Mom and her two kids) have inherited the remnants of an abandoned Abby. It’s going to make one heckuva of a resale, once they get it fixed up.
Well, you have already guessed that this gorgeous relic is the stomping ground of the old pitchforked man himself (unseen, except in the contorted faces of those who get possessed). This is where things could have gone off the rails, but the film walks that fine line between hitting the required touchstones of this genre, while not stealing too much from all of those exorcist films that came before – including, of course THE Exorcist.
There will be blood and it dips its toe into the aforementioned schlock, but with great production values and Crowe’s presence, it works out in the 2 ½ out of 4-star range.
In other words—it coulda been worse.
The Pope’s Exorcist is currently on Netflix and might still be in a theater or two.