The Pope’s Exorcist Review
Rusty is a wise-cracking, moped riding, demon destroying exorcist in this romp that is as enjoyable as it is middling.
Father Gabriel Amorth (Russell Crowe) is the Pope’s Chief Exorcist, but he is facing a high ranking clergy that is starting to feel exorcisms - and by extension the presence of evil - are irrelevant in modern society. Amorth is charged by the Pope to journey to Spain, where the young Henry (Peter DeSouza-Feighoney) has been possessed. After meeting with the mother Julia (Alex Essoe) and sister Amy (Laurel Marsden), and local priest Father Esquibei (Daniel Zovatto), Amorth realises that this demon is no normal demon. As he tries to find a way to fight this incredibly powerful spirit, he and Father Esquibei stumble across a secret horror at the root of the Church.
Directed by Julius Avery, The Pope’s Exorcist is the sort of fun, rollicking horror-come-exorcist superhero story that is a blast. At least when it works.
Russell Crowe is having a blast in a role that really benefits from his energy and presence. Though you may be initially hesitant about his Italian accent, it soon drifts from your consciousness, and what you are left with is a character that you can really root for. He has the sort of dual hectic presence that makes you think he really could both walk into this room and punch a child, and walk into this room and Romper Stomper the shit out of the devil himself.
The family and the second priest all fare equally blandly. None of them make much of an impact, but they don’t detract from the film either. DeSouza-Feighoney is probably the most impactful of the bunch, but even then he never really rings true in either a realism perspective, or a creepy perspective. The devil voice and actions of the kid are scary for sure, but the things coming out of his mouth are curiously ineffective. They’re weird and a bit disgusting, sure, but it still feels like the movie is pulling its punches.
Ultimately, by the time the film wraps up - complete with a scene that could spur 119 sequels in a Pope’s Exorcist Cinematic Universe vibe - you’re having a ball. Fire, brimstone and shouting make the finale a mile a minute, even if it makes no sense. Oh, and let’s not forget Russell Crowe looking like a fashion boss in his full black smock, orange tinted sunglasses, on his Vespa cruising through Rome and (for some inexplicable reason…did he ship the moped there?) Spain.
