Last Updated on June 23, 2024 by
You would not be blamed for being confused about the existence of The Exorcism. The plot of the film can easily be mistaken, for instance, there is a poster of Russell Crowe wearing a collar and holding up a cross so it is assumed that it is a sequel to the 2022 religious horror movie, The Pope’s Exorcist where Crowe played the role of a Pope exorcising demons. Then, you view the trailer where it turns out it is a filming of a movie about the demonic possession of a teenage girl’s body and the role of a priest. Are we now witnessing an echo of The Exorcist!? This connection only ties into the 1973 horror game-changer once you discover that The Exorcism is directed by Joshua John Miller, son of Jason Miller, who portrayed Father Karras in The Exorcist—still dizzy?
But no, this movie is a complete shot away considering that it is a stand-alone picture. Yeah, it winks at The Exorcist and a lot of other ‘70s horror flicks. Sometimes it feels like we have producer Kevin Williamson here because, as what Scream did for the slasher film, The Exorcism attempts to do for dread movies. The presence of Williamson is felt because the narrative often tries to shift between being a comedy and a horror flick and there we have Crowe churning out one of his most.
The Exorcism relates the story of an unsuccessful actor named Anthony Miller who gets a chance to play a priest in a story of an extraordinary supernatural horror film after the man who was initially to feature in the cast meets an untimely unfortunate premature and strange death on the sets of the movie. “ Miller is not a credible name in the business anymore due to his affair with alcohol. ”As for the demon, he did manage to kick it to the curb by going to rehab but he does seem to be afflicted by the death of his wife. Thus, if the role mentioned above comes his way, he interprets it as a good thing. Before starting working at Miller’s company, Miller’s daughter, Lee, is expelled from school due to her aggressive behavior, and thus they have an opportunity to establish a relationship. And just when things go well, the director, Peter, insists on the effects of a tragedy in Anthony’s acting, thus summoning an evil spirit in the actor’s soul.
By evaluating the trailer and given the fact that The Pope’s Exorcist was released relatively close to the movie, I assumed that The Exorcism was a parody of possession-type movies. Little did I imagine that I could not have been more wrong. It is a very serious depiction of the dangerous reality of ‘churches’ and how they abuse children as it happens. In the context of meta-story telling Fortin and Miller ponder how Christianity has been impacted by what it has seen in the entertainment domain and consequently, if what was created is more of an evil. They also delve into the method of acting and the auteur theory and efficiently bad-mouth it because actors should only consider their past or their actual experiences if they can differentiate between reality and the screen and be able to deliver a perfect performance.
If it’s negatively affecting them and ruining the filmmaking process, then what’s the point? Fortin and Miller do have some positive stuff to say about the power of faith and how it can strengthen a person’s resolve during their moments of crisis, which is always a nice thing to see as religion is commercialized with each passing day. Also, as a fan of The Exorcist TV series, it’s always great to see the power of queerness repelling a monster in the horror genre.
When it comes to the use of fear in The Exorcism, Miller attempts to be somewhat middle-ground in offering jump scares that are found in more conventional horror films and the slow process of decline and distress that is evident in the characters of the film. In my personal opinion, the jumpscares are not even creative enough to be scary. However, when the versatility of the set in the set of the film and the different sorts of luminaries do come into contention, things become more intriguing. And that kind of forces you to watch the filmmaking techniques utilized to create some of the diegetic scares. However, as such moments are a little recurring, the extent to which viewers interact with the movie somewhat decreases. On the contrary, I thought it was rather smart to employ the slow and relentless way of employing, for example, extreme close-ups, cross-fade, long dialogue-heavy scenes, and intelligent sound mixing to portray the disintegration of Anthony and the toll that it is taking on Lee. It has this sense that we’re watching some 80s slasher film while still being an exploration of a man’s psychological landscape. That said, the cinematographer Simon Duggan, editors Gardner Gould and Matthew Woolley, the production designer Michael Perry and the set decorators, the make-up artists and SFX artists, VFX artists, sound designers, and last but not least, the stunt performers do deserve a round of applause for that.
Just like how the filmmaking aspect of The Exorcism is a dimension than what is an average possession movie, there will always be intrigue on how Russell Crowe opted to act in this certain character. Ever since using Google to search for information, you will easily learn all you need to know concerning his flare-up nature and alcoholism. He recently portrayed a priest who battled with personal vices in fighting the other demons, which were quite literally from hell. Seeing him portray an actor who is struggling with alcoholism and anger management issues when he is forced to portray a priest in the film within this ‘horror film’ that struggles with alcoholism and anger issues is quite an eye-opener. Of course, the truth of Crowe’s life is covered up with layers that tell the cinema about the issues related to faith, religion, and the complete idea of this picture; but yes it is appealing to see that during this meta performance, at least for that split second, few shades of Crowe must have come out. Lee Miller is excellent. It is very real and within our grasp how she shows those moments of losing all the close ones and how hard it is to be strong and stand firm on one’s own that is where the terror hits. I would have liked more of him, especially because Sam Worthington is brilliantly funny without being loud about it. Chloe Bailey gets it pretty right as does David Hyde Pierce. People usually underestimate Adam Goldberg and I think he is a great actor, so it was good to see Crowe working with him again.
That having been said, it have been evident in the third act that Exorcism is somewhat weak whenever it attempts to employ a traditional jump-scare tactic. But it is thoroughly fascinating when it is in the quest of that which binds humanity, religion, and the world of movies. In the course of this movie review, I noticed that the film barely got a rating, and to this date, I do not understand why this is the case. As for me, I am concerned that new viewers will watch it and never pay attention to everything else in that movie. Well, I am here to tell you that you should give it a good shot because it feels like a film for and from Russell Crowe to some extent. If you know anything about Joshua John Miller that the latter is the son of Jason Miller, the actor who portrayed Father Damian Karras in The Exorcist, and if you are cognizant of the fact that Joshua once suffered addiction and trauma as portrayed in his semi-biographical film entitled The Mao Game, then you would understand that this genre of film is close to home for him. Besides, if you are interested in movies about making movies: Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, Blow Out, Shadow of the Vampire, all the Scream movies, Gods and Monsters, Berberian Sound Studio, One Cut of the Dead, and Censor, as well as other films, you should try watching The Exorcism.
The Exorcism 2024 Parents Guide Age Rating
The Exorcism is Rated R by the Motion Picture Rating (MPA) for some violent content, sexual references, and brief drug use.
Violence and Gore: Has elements of horror and violence: people being possessed, exorcism. Gory scenes of the people being attacked by evil spirits and possessed by evil spirits. People receive serious physical and mental abuse and torture. Demons, possession, exorcism, and themes of good and evil. Examination of such topics as trauma, addiction, and mental illness. Religious institutions as objects of critique and their effects on people. Many of them are jump scares and filled with suspense., Intense sequences of psychological terror and annoyance. Elements of horror movies such as utilizing an intense close-up shot and ominous background noise.
Language: The instances of vulgar language, including the use of obscene, abusive, and blasphemous expressions.
Substance / Drug Use: Use of alcohol where the hero is shown as an alcoholic person. Some drug references.
Sexual Content: Scenes of sexual abuse within the use of churches for these purposes. No sexually explicit scenes but the theme can be considered as adult and can be considered as containing material that may be disturbing.
It is not recommended for children as it contains themes that are appropriate for adult audiences, frequent swearing, and scenes of extreme horror.
