‘The Exorcism’ Review – The Dark Curse Of Dullness Is Hanging Above This Film

Horror movies have been a vessel for exploring darkness, frightening moments, and unexplainable things since the dawn of cinema. Paranormal works such as Hereditary and The Conjuring use our fear of spirits and ghosts. At the same time, slasher films like Halloween and Psycho prey on the ominous character traits of some of our fellow humans. While both subgenres are very widespread in Hollywood, another one has become much more popular: the demonic possession horror.

Since William Friedkin’s 1973 The Exorcist, many filmmakers have taken on demons, evil in multiple forms, and the unknown. The latest director making his way to the dark side is actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller (The Mao Game), son of Jason Miller who portrayed Priest Damien Karras in The Exorcist. With him is Russell Crowe, who, after The Pope’s Exorcist, is undoubtedly becoming an expert in the exorcism field. However, even he can’t save The Exorcism from escaping the dark curse that is dullness.

There might not be a Vespa involved this time, but Crowe is again taking on the role of a priest, or better said, an actor, Anthony Miller, portraying a priest in the horror feature they’re shooting in this movie. As an audience member, you’ll instantly notice the meta element in The Exorcism. The movie has taken much inspiration from Friedkin’s work, including a scene of a possessed woman in bed, terrible on-set disasters and other not-so-subtle nods to one of the most groundbreaking horror features. The movie in this feature is called ‘The Georgetown Project’, which is a reference to Georgetown, Washington DC, where The Exorcist is taking place. And no wonder the leading actor and director share a very similar name as Anthony Miller is Joshua John Miller’s birth name.

Whether Miller included those elements to honour Friedkin, to address the lack of original horror movies or for another reason, we don’t know. What we do know, however, is that those elements don’t have the intended scary impact. Instead, they are predictable and unfrightening. And it’s not that the originality and eeriness levels are increasing when the filmmaker throws in a storyline about a broken father and daughter relationship.

After the death of his wife, Anthony gave in to drinking and drugs, resulting in him becoming a washed-up actor who ended up in rehab. But now, when he decides to star in the latest work by director Peter (Adam Goldberg) to revive his career, he wants to amend the broken relationship with his daughter Lee (Ryan Simpkins), who was recently expelled from school. To do so, he makes her his on-set personal assistant.

While the aspect of a father and daughter coming back together and leaving scandal and addiction behind could have enriched the dramatic impact of the feature, Miller is exploring the destroyed relationship too much. Its presence is too prominent, which results in the drama overpowering the horror. The Exorcism starts to feel more and more like a dark movie about people torn apart because of an addiction than a possession horror film in which the lead faces more demons than just his inner ones.

The only moment this relationship adds a layer of paranoia and fear is when Lee starts to notice the erratic behaviour of her father. Anthony begins to sleepwalk and to talk in Latin, and Lee realizes that his strange demeanour might be the result of a dark, otherworldly force and not of Peter’s famous psychological torture method he uses to enhance his actors’ performance.

The overpowering presence of the bond between Anthony and Lee isn’t the only reason why this movie can’t fully become the mysterious, dark, and supernatural horror film the director intended to make. The very short runtime of 93 minutes is also a disadvantage to the filmmaker. If the movie was longer, Miller could have explored the horror facet a bit more and truly delivered a hair-raising work.

Anthony isn’t only accompanied on set by Lee, but also by Father Conor (David Hyde Pierce), a priest who serves as Antony’s consultant. The back and forth between the two elevates the in-movie film and The Exorcism. Pierce (Frasier, A Bug’s Life) delivers an electrifying performance, while Crowe’s strong acting ensures that the feature is convincing at times. Watching Anthony twist, turn and break reminds us of Crowe’s menacing, commanding presence in The Pope’s Exorcist. Crowe’s committed acting comes through even more when the pressure on Anthony increases, and the dark forces and thoughts take over him. His physical movements mimic the demons inside him, and there’s something highly unsettling in seeing Crowe physically taking on the demon. We don’t want to say too much cause the less you know, the better, but rather than simply portraying a possessed, once-celebrated actor, Crowe embraces the demon with his entire body.

While the cast, led by Crowe’s compelling performance, does justice to Miller and co-writer M.A. Fortin their script, the film itself disappointingly falls short of delivering a truly out-of-body experience. While intriguing, the slow-burning psychological drama fails to fully realize the potential of its horror premise, leaving us with a sense of familiarity and sluggishness. 

The Exorcism is now playing in theaters courtesy of Vertical Entertainment