The Exorcism
The Exorcism
Starring Russell Crowe, Ryan Simpkins, Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey
Directed by Joshua John Miller
Anthony Miller (Russell Crowe) is an embattled former star, haunted by events of his childhood, who resorted to drugs and alcohol that all but destroyed his career and, more importantly, his relationship with his daughter Lee (Ryan Simpkins). While filming an exorcist movie called "The Georgetown Project," the film's star mysteriously dies, and Anthony is brought in as the replacement. Not long after, he starts exhibiting strange behaviors and mannerisms that could point to a return to the bottle - or a demonic possession.
"The Exorcism" was directed and co-written by Joshua John Miller, who's father was famed actor Jason Miller, who played Father Karras in "The Exorcist," so you'd expect someone who's had such firsthand knowledge of the original could craft something equally as terrifying - sadly, you'd be wrong. What "The Exorcism" is is a painfully dull outing that fails to deliver a cohesive story, but instead relies on classic horror tropes and jump scares to illicit some sense of fear, but all it did was give some basic shrugs of the shoulder.
The movie is mundane in its storytelling, focusing on the generic alcoholic actor who wants to turn his life around but becomes possessed instead, but people think he's going back to the bottle, despite obvious cues that point to something supernatural (such as when Anthony goes all bendy backwards in front of the entire cast and crew, and they shrug it off as a relapse). The story also devolves into the stereotypical dysfunctional family dynamic where Anthony's daughter Lee refers to him as "Tony" and not "Dad," something you'd expect to see. Even when he's becoming possessed, Lee also misunderstands the cues and repeatedly asks if her father is back on the bottle. It's frustrating to see this film recycle itself in repetitive scenes and moments over and over while maintaining the same result.
Russell Crowe has proven himself to be a capable Father figure in 2023's "The Pope's Exorcist," where he plays a real-life priest who works for the Pope and partakes in the most intense exorcisms around, but does so with a cheery personality and dry sarcastic wit that makes him all the more endearing. Here, he's an actor playing a priest, but does so with absolutely no emotion whatsoever (it's interesting to note that the film was made in 2019 but only released in 2024, so "The Pope's Exorcist" was filmed later and released earlier). Even in unfairly comparing the two priests, "The Exorcism" has the lower end of the stick with Crowe's labored performance.
There's no chemistry whatsoever between Crowe and Ryan Simpkins, who plays his estranged daughter Lee. She doesn't get much character development outside being a high school troublemaker who falls in love with Anthony's castmate played by Chloe Bailey, but even that chemistry is nonexistent. In fact, none of the characters have any real emotional resonance with one another, and the film choppily moves from one moment to the next with no narrative beat. It's just scene after scene of Anthony becoming more possessed, with musical jump scares, and repetitive dialogue. This won't be something you'll remember after it ends, or even remember during it.
The Score: D-
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