The Wasteland Reviewer

The Exorcism (2024) Written Review

Hold the phone…Russell Crowe is in another exorcism film that has nothing to do with The Pope’s Exorcist? Where is Father Amorth when you need him? On the surface, it certainly feels like Crowe is falling into a specific niche market for his skills. Joshua John Miller, the writer/director of the film, has a different type of exorcism film he wants to tell here. This is no priestly role for Crowe. On the contrary, it might hit a little closer to home. He is an actor portraying a priest in an exorcism movie. The meta layers to The Exorcism certainly cannot be overlooked. 

But does Miller make the most of his fresh take on the exorcism movie concept? Not quite. On the surface, you see the difference. This is a tortured actor who slowly gets possessed (somehow) on the set of an exorcism movie where he is portraying an exorcist. But there are plenty of tropey elements that still rear their ugly heads. The unnerving contorting of the human body. The slowly changing faces into something grotesque and disgusting. But it is not just other exorcism films that this one “homage”. The whole central drama to the film feels a little too familiar with a tortured dad who can very well harm his family through his addiction and/or possession. Yeah…Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick might know a lot about that. The overall concept feels fresh and interesting, but the execution feels tired and worn instead. 

How does the human drama hit? There is a lot going on with our protagonist, Anthony Miller. He is a man who let his family fall apart as he struggled with addiction. But by the time the film begins, he is already trying to remedy this shortcoming with his now adult daughter. The addiction is used as a red herring for the rest of the characters in the film as Miller spirals with his newly acquired possession. The audience is fully aware of what is going on, which honestly takes away a bit of the tension the film is trying to build up. Miller arc is effective enough and a lot of that has to do with Crowe. His daughter, Lee, has her own subplot centered around a needless romance that does not add much at all to the proceedings. 

Does the film scare you at least? There is a mixed bag of emotions when it comes to the horror of the film. There are some horribly obnoxious auditory jump scares making the sound design a lot less effective. The music gets so loud that it jars you away from the film (the opposite reaction you want from the creative choice). There are barely any moments in the film that are straight scary. There is one moment that might get a genuine jump out of you but the rest of it just feels so tiring and predictable. But the atmosphere is quite effective thanks to the camera work and production design. The set in which the movie within the movie is being filmed makes for some uneasy moments just from how well it is set up and structured. There is some good tension being built around certain scenes before the cheesy modern horror choice kind of ruin them. 

Can the cast elevate this middling horror flick? Crowe delivers another strong performance in a horror movie that does not quite deserve it. He brings weight to every scenario despite some weak writing around him. He sells the insecurity, fear, love, and building madness that inhabit this character. Adam Goldberg spews awkward exposition and horribly abusive dialogue at Miller (which should easily tank those scenes) and Crowe is still able to salvage them with some impressive physical acting and restraint. Most of the remaining cast do a fine job. The two biggest other names on the set are David Hyde Pierce, who portrays a priest, and Sam Worthington (another one of the actors). Hyde Pierce makes the most of his small role, but Worthington is barely noticeable and who is destined to be remembered most for how he exits the film.

Does The Exorcism proudly add more depth to this strong year for horror so far? Certainly not. Crowe is by far the best part of this overly familiar and not quite scary exorcism film. The fun concept is squandered by uneven story structure and awkward writing. For a time with so many fresh and creative indie horror films around and other films like MaXXXine ready to make a splash, this one is destined to fade away quickly.