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The behind-the-scenes story of the Russell Crowe horror vehicleThe Exorcismis arguably more interesting than the film itself. Shot in 2019, the movie directed by Joshua Jason Miller was almost abandoned because of production shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the moderate financial success ofThe Pope’s Exorcist(also starring Crowe) allowed them to revive the film and conduct reshoots. WhileThe Exorcismis not exactly a great movie, it’s decent enough that viewers won’t regret its resurrection.
The Exorcismfollows an actor with a troubled past (Crowe) who gets a role in a horror film on a set that is rumored to be cursed, causing those around him to wonder if his erratic behavior is due to his past addictions or something more sinister. Considering that it’s produced byScreamandI Know What You Did Last Summerscribe Kevin Williamson, horror fans will not be surprised to find out that this has something more up its sleeve than the average possession horror flick. Unfortunately, it does not capitalize on that potential.
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The Exorcismdoesn’t work as a horror movie, but is intriguing and ambitious
Before it was retitled to the broadThe Exorcism, this was named “The Georgetown Project” — the name of the film-within-a-film — one of its many thinly-veiled references toThe Exorcist. At one point, a character is describing “The Georgetown Project” as “a remake of–” only to be conveniently interrupted (to avoid getting sued).The Exorcistof it all shouldn’t come as a surprise, though, considering that Miller is the son of none other than Jason Miller, who played Father Karras in William Friedkin’s 1973 classic.
However, this meta-commentary is almost served by the cinematic purgatory the movie ended up in.The Exorcismhad its principal production in 2019 before it was even announced that Blumhouse was in the works on a legacy sequel toThe Exorcist. And now thatBelieverhas come and gone, giving that franchise a fiery death with a potential phoenix-like resurrection coming in 2026, the meta-ness of Miller and M.A. Fortin’s script feels much more timely (conveniently for their sake).
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That being said, it’s also necessary to evaluateThe Exorcismon its own terms, and in many ways, it’s a failure. Despite the runtime that’s merely 90 minutes, it’s not very entertaining. Although the film is refreshingly light on cheap jump scares — with only a handful to be found, and those aren’t particularly well executed — it’s also terribly light on atmosphere. The result is a horror movie that’s not scary at all and barely even unsettling.
At one point inThe Exorcism, a character describes “The Georgetown Project” as something akin to a “character drama hidden underneath a horror movie,” and it’s painfully apparent that this is what Miller wants his movie to be. However, a character drama is only as interesting as its characters, andThe Exorcismis sorely lacking in this department. The only character with a fully developed arc is Crowe’s protagonist; everyone else is a cliche.
You have the protagonist’s distant daughter who struggles to reconnect with her father (at first because of his metaphorical demons — then his literal ones), her love interest/his co-star, another co-star who idolizes him, a cartoonishly rude director, and the “real” priest (working as a consultant on the film, of course). Although the cast for these characters is solid, including Ryan Simpkins, Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg, and David Hyde Pierce, these actors’ talents are wasted on underdeveloped roles. These gaps seem like the most prominent casualty of the cutting room and reshoots.
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Still, this is not the greatest sin ofThe Exorcism. Indeed, Miller’s movie is guilty of the same mistake as so many other works of metafiction: the third act becomes the exact formulaic nonsense it is commenting on. The first hour spends so little time on the horror elements that the final act crams them all into 30 minutes, and the result is incredibly frustrating.
That isn’t to say that nothing inThe Exorcismworks — a few parts are genuinely meritorious. Although his turn here couldn’t be further from his moped-riding performance as real-life exorcist Father Amorth inThe Pope’s Exorcist, Russell Crowe gives the character his all. Even in the most ridiculous moments, his performance feels rooted in the authenticity of a broken man.
There are also some effective visual elements in the film. As a whole, it’s too dark, although that seems to serve the purpose of covering up some of the more lackluster visual effects. The production design is mostly interesting, though, creating some surprisingly maximalist set pieces out of a predominantly confined location.
IsThe Exorcismworth watching?
As far as movies that nearly didn’t see the light of day go, you could do a lot worse thanThe Exorcism. Although it’s not particularly good as a horror movie, it does enough interesting things with its meta-commentary to be worth watching for genre fans. Just don’t come in expecting to walk away particularly scared.
The Exorcismhits theaters on June 21.
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Sean Boelman
Managing Editor for Film and TV
Articles Published :441
Sean is the Managing Editor for Film and Television, working to determine editorial strategy for the critics team. He has been on the FandomWire team since 2022.In addition to writing reviews himself, Sean helps match writers on the FandomWire team with assignments that best fit their interests and expertise.
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HorrorRussell CroweThe Exorcist
