The Exorcism review.
The Exorcism is a strong character study possessed by a disappointing horror movie.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
The Exorcism
Directed by Joshua John Miller
Written by M. A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller
Starring Russell Crowe, Ryan Simpkins, Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg, Adrian Pasdar and David Hyde Pierce
The Exorcism Review
Joshua John Miller was born one year to the day after the release of his father’s most famous movie. The Exorcist debuted on December 26, 1973…instantly creating (and breaking) a subgenre of horror. Jason Miller played Father Damien Karras. A priest struggling with his faith…confronted with devastating evil. Fifty years later, The Exorcist has solidified its place in the annals of horror (and film) history. We’re still just as obsessed with it today as moviegoers were in 1973. No one more so than Joshua John Miller.
Anthony Miller (Russel Crowe) attempts to overcome his demons while filming an exorcism movie. When the evil begins to creep closer to home…it endangers everything that he holds dear.
Crowe’s character is making a thinly veiled remake of The Exorcist. Titled “The Georgetown Project”, there are plenty of familiar beats for fans of the mother of all exorcism movies. The son of a famous film priest who worked on an allegedly cursed production co-writing and directing the story of an actor playing a priest working on an allegedly cursed production is a fascinating elevator pitch.
It isn’t the first time that Jason Miller has directly influenced his son’s work. 2015’s The Final Girls (co-written by the younger Miller) directly deals with the concept of an acting parent who has passed away who is famous for a horror film in which their character dies. It added an unexpected level of depth to the horror/comedy. Losing a parent…but being able to revisit them through their work. Even if their most notorious project means losing them all over again.
The Exorcism’s connection to Miller’s father is its strongest aspect. Its existence as a horror film is its biggest misstep. While it’s fun to see movie sets built to evoke The Exorcist…and fans of the movie may enjoy some of the tips of the cap to famous moments in that film…The Exorcism is ultimately undone the further it treads down the horror path. Put plainly, the third act of The Exorcism is a total mess. As if Joshua John Miller saw a lot of emotional things to explore…and no idea how to pay them off on film.
It’s disappointing given how strong the movie starts. Crowe is excellent as the tormented actor. He’s experienced great psychological damage. Some by his own hand…some due to outside forces. He has a strained relationship with his daughter Lee (Ryan Simpkins). Anthony gets her a job as a production assistant on his comeback film after she is kicked out of school. She faces the brunt of his mental and emotional decline. This is The Exorcism at its strongest. At its most confident.
The production of the film keeps the story progressing at a fine clip. There’s a deep character study here well worth exploring. Crowe is on point as the disgraced former star lowering himself to a horror movie with the hopes of turning things around both personally and professionally. When the story bears down on Anthony’s personal demons and mixes his backslides with a meta take on The Exorcist…the movie works. When it turns into another bland take on the overworn subgenre…it can get downright silly. It may sound strange for a horror movie review website to say…but The Exorcism should have been a pure drama.
For the movie to go off the rails as spectacularly as it does speaks both to how strong the movie starts…and how weakly it ends. Every bit of the dramatic intrigue built up is drowned out by a poor attempt at delivering a third act based on horror. A fascinating study helmed by Joshua John Miller struggles to land any of the plotlines it is studying. Clearly a passion project for the filmmaker…and one you can feel in the first half of the movie. The inability to work out an impactful destination for it should have kept the script on ice until he cracked it. There is a strong story in The Exorcism. One that unfortunately goes the way of every poor retelling of The Exorcist we’ve ever seen.
In fact, you’d (as usual) be better off just watching The Exorcist again. You can even watch along with us.
Scare Value
Crowe has a lot to play with in The Exorcism. Those expecting a reprise of his hammy performance in The Pope’s Exorcist will have to wait for the upcoming sequel. If you’re looking for an interesting character piece…The Exorcism has it. At least until its horror movie aspirations consume it completely. There’s enough interesting in the first half to recommend viewing. Be prepared for the (almost appropriately) harsh fall that follows.
2.5/5
The Exorcism Link
In theaters now – Fandango
