Honestly, the first time I watched the trailer for The Exorcism, I did a double take because it has been done before. We’ve seen what seems to be a copy of the same exorcism film before. In the film, the main character is Russell Crowe’s priest who needs to perform an exorcism. Now, sounds familiar, doesn’t it? The Pope’s Exorcist. I sat perplexed on whether The Exorcism was a spin off from the storyline or some continuation cut to the director’s concept. But no, Russell Crowe actually played two more or less similar characters nearly one after the other. ‘What was the need!’
‘The Exorcism’ and ‘The Pope’s Exorcist’ are two completely different films, and that’s probably for the best. The latter was frankly a rather bland film in my opinion, across the board but ‘Russell Crowe’ looked like he really enjoyed himself while playing Father Gabriel Aamoth which was only a handful of high points in the film. Where do I start with? There appears to be an influx of castings for Crowe specifically as an exorcist and it is perplexing, but I’m up for it! Let’s see if he does better this time.
Violence/Scary Images: In the case of horror, the standard that one can expect is met. Several individuals are taken over by a demon; they twist their bodies, aggressively yell, and move in a distressed manner. Someone offs himself while another gets his nose stabbed. They burn a man to death. Monitoring several acts of physical violence are committed.
Language/Crude Humor: Some viewers may feel insulted and offended by the use of bad language all throughout the movie. Profanity consists of all the major forms including the one that starts with the letter “f” as well as “s” Several usages of God’s and Christ’s names are blasphemous.
Drug/Alcohol References: One of the characters was an alcoholic and multiple scenes portray him drinking copious amounts of alcohol but it was always shown as a negative thing. Others are shown to drink, but most socially. Many illegal substances are used (smoked) as well, but the focus on the depiction isn’t serious. Cocaine is also mentioned. One character pops a pill and is seen, whilst there are scenes showing him attempting to pop another one but failing.
Sexual Content: A male posterior devoid of reproductive organs from the hip down is visible. Moreover, this sexual orientation has an affectionate side, with the couple caressing and kissing. A few examples contain sexual connotations, involving violence or sister brother relationships. There are strong indications that one of the characters was sexually molested, by a priest in past times.
Other Negative Content: The movie has its share of abuse but apart from the gun violence which is avenged, there is no other recourse or justice to the theme. The workplace context of the movie is insane yet seems acceptable to an extent. A standout death in particular does feel like a game changer but is ironically absent in realism.
The Exorcism as a film operates on several fronts and explains several themes. It’s a film about duality that involves the work of an exorcist turned therapist, his devout wife and a demon hungry for the skin of a child, all centered around a deep commentary. If there is one drawback and the insufferable shortcoming of the atrocious horror genre: it is this movie. Make no mistake, it is an interesting horror film that is set to impact change in people’s lives. As one character puts it, The Exorcism is a horror film with metaphysical concepts interlaced within it.
Undoubtedly, every flick can pack toxic messaging. But it is movies of the horror genre, for which especially Christians are more sensitive toward. Which is understandable when done right for the most part horror can come up with great stories to tackle some moral issues which otherwise would struggle to make it to screen anywhere else, however when not done right it is simply terrible in the sense one can’t fathom how a screenwriter could sit down and write such horrible things or the story outright promotes evil.
Demons in horror films? Now, that is more of a “yuck” situation. With those, you never know how they will turn out. Sometimes, this subgenre can be very immersive for the Christians; not only are the Cristian characters treated with respect but also spiritual battles are fought, and the character of the Trinity is restored over the forces of darkness (which usually happens by reciting out loud the Bible verses in the best form possible). However, and some might add more interesting, when throughout the film there are other studios that say: “easy! Let’s just say one of the demons is tougher than the others and has a stronger force, to the point where it’s like… sometimes even God can’t rescue someone!” and other such nonsense. Not only is it theologically wrong but it’s also quite a defeatist way of looking at the world which can make people sick. And I have to say that even as a critic, I personally continue to be more fearful in a sense on going into these types of stories.
The good news is, The Exorcism has an overall positive narrative as it contains God as central to the story. It is an engaging movie for Christians as it also strays away from some reluctant and classical horror extremes of this sub-genre. There are actually no ancient tombs, nor a particular artifact that exudes a dark and cursed essence that spontaneously imbues a person with a demonic presence. It’s actually more subtle, more in line with how the forces of evil like to operate. The Exorcism is one of the movies that i will highly recommend to anyone that has a fear of Satan or demonic beings for it gives a different angle towards their accusative nature. The fall of one of the characters does not happen in a massive single event where everything crumbles, but rather a demonic seed is planted through a lie, which leads to depression and eventually desperation, then vices, and finally the addiction. Some viewers could relate to this as the movie seems to be more realistic bringing your demons with you like one goes in for a battle rather than the stereotypical awesome fights in most movies where monsters or demons are the antagonists.
I’ve heard it said that when God created the angels, they were created to serve only one purpose to be with Him. As such, when the demons (angels at one time) chose not to obey God, they in turn chose to annihilate a part of their very being, a part of existence which can be construed as self hatred. That is why God commands us to love our neighbors, ourselves and God because it is the demons who endorse self hatred and self loathing. The central demonic possession witnessed in The Exorcism also comes in hand with this idea, as the horror does not arise from the cliche image of evil, but largely from the devastating history of a man who suffers from multiple traumas, advances into the abyss of substance abuse and mental disorders, all witnessed by the people who were supposed to love him. As said before, it is more of drama rather than horror which makes the viewer experience the movie in a been different light as compared to other movies of similar genre.
It is in the nature of demons that no further explanation is necessary an affinity built or established in the visions of the loins as it were great regional literature written. There are no ‘ahem’ moments in Exorcism, where the narrator says: ‘Let me tell you something you should know. A History of the Church, or some occult scrolls that might have served the random purpose of a lesser known demon worshiper’, nor do they tell, or speak the terms of engagement. It works in the environment everyone almost revolves around a movie, which is like The Exorcist basically a banner they flaunt and ‘sell’ to the audience. Russell Crowe does not play Anthony Miller, a washed out star meaning Andrew Miller who still does not care about casting, so he returns in this film to the role of a priest in a movie. They literally have no trouble following the command since the characters have learned the script and how to react Exposition in this case times over immediately makes no sense or gives in to times over common sense when the topic of how demons are not real is discussed. Today, Ephesians 6 has become an unfortunate reality to many, ‘In Christ commands such as, the soldiers put on the Amour of God’ several themes exist sub textually that has brews textures of Chinese cooking. But the content seems more appropriate for the genre of consultations, so there remains one thesis, the motto ‘Say’, ‘Think’, ‘Act’.
The summary raises the questions of how one can keep the self control with a “belt of truth” if they have been lied to repeatedly. Or how can they be defended by their faith when there is no faith at all? Or is it even possible to wield the sword of the word of God against the darkness, which sounds like in the case of Anthony being able to remember his lines or not having the spirit or enough knowledge of the scriptures. These questions are not explicitly dealt with in the film, still there is enough of a theological sub-text for Christian viewers wherein these issues can be revisited.
And there is another whole anchoring of themes within The Exorcism and that concerns the acting theories. It’s an artform that can be a bit philosophical than some expect, and when I was a student in theatre appreciation classes there were classes meant for more psychological explorations. The Exorcism also demonstrates a lovely synergy of ideas as a standard technique of acting is to convince the audience that you actually believe what you are saying on stage. For example, if your character is in a scene in which he or she has to read a newspaper, do not humor the audience and pretend to read the newspaper. Don’t rehearse; reproduce the required action in a manner consistent with the demands of the scene. If your character is supposed to be enraged, instead of pretending to be enraged, become enraged by the script and the situation as presented in the scene. It’s not only the demonic possession, which causes him to fail in his priestly duties an interesting trope reversal later on, that is of concern to Anthony, but also the fact that he lacks emotional depth in his lines due to his conflict with God.
This need to believe generates an even greater problem, as there are some acting techniques which can be more harmful on the mind than others. Because of the extreme conditions of their characters, some actors will go deep into their lives and scar over things which should not be touched, as Anthony does in the movie. And as for the audience, there is nothing odd in the fact that we often hear people saying how “the actor was able to lose himself and take on another identity,” yet that is never the case you cannot lose yourself; you are always you, and an actor is only the person who chooses to showcase some facets of himself while stamping down on other facets. In case you are enrolled or planning to enroll into a professional acting school it is necessary to clarify that students in the beginning months of their training are told to locate a specific role that defines them, whereas further training will aim to help the actor detach and come back to themselves. I cannot emphasize the need to master the de-rolling technique more.
It is most likely that Christian actors will indeed have to deal with this at some point during their careers. Be it playing a role for their church’s drama before a mass or taking part in a more developed Christian themed play for a production, chances are there will be some point at which one of the actors will have to assume the part of the Satan or at least a villain. And if it is for Good Friday production, it would mean the requirement of someone berating the actor who is enacting the part of Christ. There is always that challenge of finding that thin line where you have sold the role enough to aid in the storytelling process for the absorbing of the role, and constitute knowing where to draw the line, so to speak, in one’s head. It is a question of the point where you end and the character begins, and the confusion in this instance is multiplied by the fact that, in essence, it is you who is both the two.
Perhaps the most disturbing warning for actors comes from The Exorcism. Anthony is remonstrated by an intrusive director while at the same time being pushed into acting a role that is too close to the actual life. Crowe could have taken inspiration from some of his own traumatic life events in order to transform into the character of Anthony Miller. It’s always “the dude playing’ the dude, disguised as another dude!” Yet things get even more meta considering that The Exorcism’s screenwriter and director Joshua John Miller is also the son of Jason Miller who acted as Father Karas in The Exorcist, the film that The Exorcism takes most of its satire from.
It also mentions the longstanding myths that some movies are “cursed” of which The Exorcist is said to be one of them, (which is explication in the first episode of the mini docuseries Cursed Films that is available on Shudder, the same VOD provider that will later host The Exorcism as well). There’s just so many holes to jump into, and if you are a movie nerd who also likes to read about the making of a movie or even the acting as an art, then The Exorcism is a Socratic interesting film.
The most beautiful element of the film remains how the directors’ able to explore its themes. It is a pity that the film could not remain a spooky drama as such things would be a bit odd considering the theme. However, it definitely gets a bit too horror and gory for people that would want to focus on the dramatics within the story. The Exorcism, for horror fans, is a disappointment. The shocks aren’t sprinkled liberally over the film so when they are, most have already been seen somewhere or won’t effectively scare anyone. A small number of the jump scares do work since they are surprising and come out of nowhere; this is not the case with the Conjuring series which is leisurely unfolding before having its audience witness a great cut. This is not however the case as a prompt may occur once or twice but for the most part, tension and suspense are non existent in the movie. Due to the slow pace of the movie which concentrates on the family struggles, everything else that is horror cliches is reserved until the final moments and for most viewers this will be too much.
The Exorcism and other narratives have both an inner and outer conflict and in The Exorcism however The Exorcism does an admiral job in portraying and fleshing out the internal struggles that occur with spiritual warfare which is impressive considering film is a visual oriented form of media, it does come across as rather lazy in trying to connect the struggle with an external force. It falls into clichés, offering the audience a more westernized Hollywood version of possession, with event after event depicting scenes which unfortunately do not only make one feel like they have seen it better done in other movies. It does not reward the patience of a horror fan quite well. The climax of the movie and the entire movie’s ending feels rather trash and unorganized. The priest who is the main resident of the film is a very charming character and manages to offer the audiences some good positive reinforcement but on the other hand he does such things which manage to ruin his representation of some of the doctrines completely. That particular decision in storytelling can be defended when looking at the context of where the narrative goes towards the end but still, it feels awkward and somewhat annoying and nonsensical.
There’s a gay relationship in the film. It’s more of a story telling device rather than a deficiency. At the same time, it is pretty much a side issue. It’s there. It exists. It’s not unique. It’s not so blatant that it qualifies as ‘Woke’, although there are those that might label it that regardless. Perhaps it would have been nicer if it were portrayed as a friendship, but then again, there is a powerful absence of depictions of real friendships in modern cinema anyways.
With regards to the other aspects of the production, there’s not too much to criticize. A few of the actors were somewhat recognizable, and each of the performers were adequate in their performance. Though Russell Crowe did look more like he was enjoying himself in The Pope’s Exorcist, Anthony is mostly miserable, a bit low energy in comparison to Father Aamoth, making it harder to picture Crowe genuinely enjoying himself on set too much.
One of the highlights of the film is the huge movie set which reminds one of The Exorcist but once the film moves to Anthony’s apartment, the space and geography of the scene can be disorienting at times. The action of the film does not subject itself to a linear progression of time and space, with light, for example, always coming in and out, although it is at times too dark to see anything and it can be distracting. At the same time, the color and composition are beautiful, but the lack of any direction in detail absolutely lowers the tension and buildup of the audience for the last struggle.
At the end of the day, it’s a hard movie to critique. I simply realized, about watching it for half the time, that I fit absolutely into the ideal audience of this movie: a film of the Christians cast and a horror fan. That’s very specific and not very big. The Exorcism is, for the most part, awful, but many things that it sought out to pursue were pleasing to me. I remember thinking through every single topic and every single idea that the film tried to depict, even if it is not a movie that breaks new ground about the themes of demon possession.
Considering the other reviews and scores, I seem to be among the few who liked the film most were not impressed as it provides clichéd predictable scares in an embarrassing attempt to satisfy its horror audience, although it fails to do so in the first place. Still, since it then becomes somewhat of a schlock, it is difficult to advise those who appreciated the storyline in the first half. So I say this if you are the sort of person who liked Halloween Ends, go ahead and watch The Exorcism. It is nowhere near a flawless film but it is interesting enough to deserve a watch and with time, might find its niche, thanks to its unusual outlook on the whole topic of spiritual warfare. Still, I had fun, and so I’m biased and I’m rating it accordingly if you do not consider yourself part of this niche crowd, deduct at least two points from my score. The film is still available in select cinemas distributed by Vertigo Releasing (UK) or Vertical Entertainment (USA), after which it will go to Shudder.
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