The Exorcism
★ ★
The Exorcism is a film that promises us an interesting take on the stories of paranormal activities that reportedly happened during the production of films like The Omen, The Exorcist and Poltergeist. Horror films grounded in plausible spiritual warfare tend to be the most frightening, but here we never dive deep enough into the subject material for it to be either plausible or scary.
Tense moments come without the necessary story buildup and character development to make them effective. The scariest parts come with jump scares when everything is quiet, and suddenly, the music blasts an unsettling chord or a cat jumps out of nowhere. Savvy audiences are used to these gimmicks and can usually smell them from a mile away.
David Hyde Pierce and Russell Crowe
© 2024 Miramax
The story opens with an actor walking through the set of an upcoming “Exorcist” film. The actor reads the scene directions in the script as he moves from room to room, climbing the stairs to the attic bedroom while rehearsing his lines. It is quickly apparent that he is by himself on the set during the walkthrough.
From out of nowhere, lights flicker in a bedroom and the door is slammed shut behind the actor as he is attacked and killed by an unseen evil spirit.
We’re next introduced to Anthony Miller (Russell Crowe) alone in his apartment, studying his lines to audition for the role vacated by the previous actor, whose death we just witnessed. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins) comes home as he’s rehearsing, having been expelled from a prestigious high school. This reunion is more focused on Anthony’s recent sobriety than Lee’s expulsion. Anthony carries a lot of guilt about the pain his addiction caused Lee, and throughout the film, he tries to make it up to her.
Despite his alcoholic reputation in the film industry, Anthony eventually lands the role, and Lee becomes his assistant on the film set.
Ryan Simpkins & Chloe Bailey
© 2024 Miramax
During the film, Anthony struggles with sobriety and rebuilding his relationship with Lee. The film they are making is an obvious version of the original Exorcist, and the more Anthony tries embodying himself into the role of the priest, the more he becomes afflicted by the demonic entity that apparently haunts the project.
On the set of the film is Father Conor (David Hyde Pierce) as a consultant. He is both a priest and a psychiatrist, and his presence is there to give their film a level of authenticity that the director, Peter (Adam Goldberg), requires.
Peter pushes Anthony hard to get the right performance, ratcheting up his demands and becoming increasingly hostile the more Anthony becomes afflicted by the dark entity causing his acting to suffer.
Russell Crowe after an attack
© 2024 Miramax
The Exorcism runs at a slim 90 minutes, which explains why the story felt rushed. A film like this often benefits from about 20 more pages of script to flesh out the characters and story. The potential to explore the psychological aspects of Anthony’s affliction and take a deep dive into his relationship with Lee as he tries to resurrect his career is given more of a paint-by-numbers treatment.
That’s a shame because it also diminishes the relationship Lee develops with Blake Holloway (Chloe Bailey), the co-star of the film they’re working on. Blake takes Lee under her wing and helps her navigate the film set, which is a potentially interesting story thread that mostly falls flat against the film’s cheap plot.
The Exorcism isn’t scary, nor is it psychologically unsettling as a film like this should be. The climactic battle with evil is more laughable than tense.
It would have been great to see a film that explores the paranormal phenomena that has occasionally plagued horror film sets. I guess with The Exorcism, it wasn’t meant to be.
Rated: R (Violence, Frightening Images, Language)
Running Time: 1h 33m
Directed by: Joshua John Miller
Written by: M.A. Fortin, Joshua John Miller
Starring: Russell Crowe, Ryan Simpkins, Chloe Bailey, Sam Worthington, Adam Goldberg, David Hyde Pierce, Samantha Mathis
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
