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2024 seems to be a year inundated with religious themed horror, and since we’re halfway through, did we really need to see another one? this weekend ExorcismStarring Russell Crowe, it will debut in theaters and people will either absolutely love it or hate it, and hopefully if I get to screen an advanced review, I might change your mind about why this movie isn’t actually as bad as you think.
Exorcist and demon movies are a dime a dozen, they hit and miss and more often than not they hit. This also isn’t Crowe’s first rodeo in this subgenre, but you’ll have to forgive me for leaving it out on purpose Pope’s exorcistSo I honestly don’t know anything about it. I’ll just say it was terrible. Anyway, this movie is about a recovering actor who plays a priest who has to exorcise demons and then fights actual demons in the process of making the movie. Unique enough on its own, sure, but not enough to hold the torch.
I’ll be blunt: As a horror film, this film doesn’t bring anything new or special to the table, and I wasn’t very impressed, especially with the tropes or the jump scares. As a horror movie, yes, it’s scary.
However! listen to me There’s a particularly meta part of this movie that breaks the fourth wall, and I hope everyone notices it. (Don’t worry, this isn’t a spoiler.)
At the party, the director (Adam Goldberg, who is an absolute gem in this film) describes his film like this: “A psychological drama wrapped in the skin of a horror film.”
I couldn’t agree with that sentiment and that’s when I decided to watch the film with two pairs of eyes and take it all in straight; There is no stalker.
There are tons of thematic elements like abuse, neglect, disease, self-reflection, trauma, institutional/generational trauma and abuse, heck…I could go on with a laundry list that no one on earth wants to read. My point is, there’s a lot to unpack here, and is this the best way to do it? No. Much of the film is rushed and sloppy, while the rest was thoughtful and well-crafted.
While the supernatural elements are middling and tired, Crowe’s performance as a jaded drug addict, father and widower hits hard. Where are my fluoxetine kids? You’ll appreciate the nod when you see it.
I didn’t want to like this movie at first, but to be honest, it defies the logic of other religious subgenre nonsense. I won’t go into details because it might be a spoiler risk, but you’ll know when you do. I also think that being LGBTQ+ friendly was a huge slap in the face to Catholicism, and heck, who among us doesn’t love that? Sorry, not sorry.
Overall, I honestly appreciated this movie for what it was. A psychological drama wrapped in the skin of a horror film that makes no sense at times and breaks the fourth wall in the best possible way.
I received a copy of this film in exchange for an honest review.
