Movie Review ~ The Exorcism

There’s been an exhilarating resurgence of the devil and demonic possession films making a thrilling comeback in movie theaters after dominating our screens via streaming services for the past decade.  In recent years, we’ve been treated to the devilish frights of The First Omen, When Evil Lurks, Nefarious, and The Pope’s Exorcist, all boldly making their way to the big screen, daring audiences to experience their unholy spectacles.  The once-dormant audience interest in occult horror, which seemed to fade as the cultish ’70s gave way to the slasher ’80s, has been reignited and is refusing to be extinguished.

The Pope’s Exorcist, starring Russell Crowe, was just the beginning. Crowe, an Oscar winner, is back with The Exorcism, a meta-horror that ambitiously blends historical pop culture with modern scares.  Unfortunately, Hollywood’s latest attempt to conjure box office gold out of a head-spinning thriller falters in its goal to be equal parts homage and an exorcism of personal ghosts.  Directed by actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller (Teen Witch), it’s loosely inspired by the unease his father, Jason Miller, experienced while filming William Friedkin’s The Exorcist in 1973. 

Crowe (Sleeping Dogs) stars as Anthony Miller, a troubled star who leaps at an opportunity for redemption.  There’s been an accident on the set of a remake of a classic film, and the lead actor playing a tortured priest needs to be replaced.  Filming under the working title The Georgetown Project, anyone worth their horror salt can quickly draw their conclusion about what film is being given the reboot, even if it’s never mentioned by name and the characters feel like vague sketches of the ones unforgettably burned into our memory. 

Miller joins the production right as filming begins and just as his troubled daughter Lee (Ryan Simpkins, Fear Street: Part Two 1978) returns after being suspended from school. Lee somehow manages to land a job as a P.A. on the set, and she’s there to see her dad slowly begin to unravel as the evil being portrayed onscreen begins to seep into reality. Are Anthony’s old habits and vices returning, or has another form of darkness taken over him? 

The film-within-a-film construct might have been a more exciting angle had it been handled with more finesse and follow-through.  Unfortunately, Miller and co-writer M.A. Fortin introduced chaos and some horror happenings that would send any average production to a grinding halt.  The supposed real-life parallels meant to blur the lines between fiction and reality feel more like unresolved ideas than compelling storytelling.  To its credit, The Exorcism is less interested in giving viewers a rehash of pea soup projectile vomiting and more concerned with the often-insidious nature of societal demons. 

Though it makes some headway in reflecting the toxicity that can fester in Hollywood and organized religion by using characters played by Adam Goldberg (the film’s director) and David Hyde Pierce (the film’s spiritual advisor), it ultimately can’t sustain its meta-commentary without devolving into serpentine metaphor.

Bringing the kind of broody intensity he perfected back in 1997’s L.A. Confidential, Crowe’s portrayal of a man haunted by his past hints at the depths the script doesn’t always spell out.  This creates tension between Miller and Fortin’s loftier aspirations and its more conventional horror structure.  Pierce is also nicely grounded, and his scenes with Crowe and Simpkins hint at the potential for an eerie, nuanced psychological thriller that never comes together.  These strong players are juxtaposed against an ensemble that seems to inhabit a different film altogether.  A co-star of the film Anthony is shooting, Sam Worthington’s (Man on a Ledge) Joe is largely forgettable, and Chloe Bailey’s (Joyful Noise) Blake Holloway, in the not-Linda Blair possessed girl role, feels oddly one-dimensional.  Playing the obnoxious director, Goldberg makes every obvious choice, detracting from any sustained mood being created.

Visually, Miller and production designer Michael Perry (Promising Young Woman) create an effectively oppressive set for Crowe and company to work on.  Disorienting camerawork from Simon Duggan (The Great Gatsby) is meant, I think, to mirror Anthony’s descent into psychosis but winds up creating more headache than unease.  All the technical flourishes in the world can’t compensate for a script that feels unnecessarily padded and stretched thin over its brief run time. 

Miller manages to whip up some neat frights in the final act. Still, by that time, the film has a long run out of ways to keep us engaged and interested in what’s coming next.  Opting for a more pedestrian path in the telling of this childhood memory, it winds up leaving audiences wanting a film with more substance.  I almost wish Miller had kept all the personal details and made it more of a documentary with some scenes recreated than a semi-fictional narrative that always feels like it’s trying to pull the wool over our eyes.

For avid horror enthusiasts and dedicated film fans, The Exorcism offers a hefty supply of references to other (better) movies and, for better or worse, a thought-provoking meta-commentary.  While the film’s critiques of religion and Tinseltown may get lost in the whirlwind of scares and narrative detours, Miller’s film, a personal exploration of trauma and Hollywood curses holds a promise of intrigue.  Whether the questions he raises will resonate beyond the theater depends on the viewer’s willingness to delve into bleak darkness – and to appreciate a movie that often gets lost in its own reflection.