Movie Review: 'The Exorcism' Starring Russell Crowe

The Exorcism (2024)

Directed by Joshua John Miller

Written by M.A Fortin, Joshua John Miller

Starring Russell Crowe, Ryan Simpkins, Chloe Bailey, David Hyde Pierce, Adam Goldberg

Release Date June 21st, 2024

Published June 20th, 2024

Russell Crowe is in a strange period of his career. The former leading man, heartthrob, and box office star, is now a sideshow act in the world of horror. I'm not saying it's a downgrade, but going from being an Academy Award nominee to starring in multiple movies centered around exorcists or or exorcism is certainly not what anyone would have predicted regarding a man who was once one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood. Crowe's career was derailed by alcohol and bad behavior and now he finds himself in a genre famous for actors slumming it hoping for a hit and a comeback.

Just last year, Crowe starred in the odd, so bad it's good, exorcism horror flick, The Pope's Exorcist. That film was so successful that Crowe is making a sequel in 2025, marking the third exorcism-centric film in a period of three years. That's weird right? I'm not crazy, that's just a bizarre turn of events. For his second exorcism movie in two year, Crowe stars in The Exorcism in which he plays a down on his luck former leading man actor who takes a role in a horror movie where he plays a priest who is leading an exorcism of a possessed teenager. The meta is apparently coincidental but nonetheless inescapable.

That the filmmakers and Crowe himself seem to have no interest in how bizarrely meta The Exorcism is, only makes the movie that much more fascinating, odd, and, admittedly, incredibly watchable. The Exorcism stars Russell Crowe as Anthony Miller. Having been in recovery for about a year, Tony, as his daughter calls him, is ready to get back to work and an opportunity has just fallen in his lap. The star of a horror movie has died unexpectedly while on-set alone. This leaves the director, played by Adam Goldberg, scrambling and in need of a leading man.

While Tony is pursuing his return to the big screen, he's also trying to reconnect with his daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins). Lee is home from college after being suspended. She will go on to explain why she was suspended but it's not important to the plot. Tony gets the role and he gets Lee a job as a Production Assistant. While on set, Lee meets Tony's co-star, a pop star turned actress, named Blake Holloway (Chloe Bailey). The two strike an immediate friendship that may be more than just friendship

Helping out on the movie is Father Conor (David Hyde Pierce). He's on the set to provide arcane knowledge about exorcism and the bible. He will become central to the plot as Tony finds himself being drawn back toward his demons. He starts drinking again. He refuses to take needed medication, and his behavior is getting stranger as each day on set passes. And, his performance is quite bad, he lacks energy and engagement and his situation is not helped by a director who uses Tony's past traumas, including time spent as an alter boy, to try and inform Tony's performance.

That sets the stage for what is to come in The Exorcism and the metaphor is as thick as a London Fog. The film is not subtle about crafting a parallel between addiction and demonic possession. It's also humorless about how unsubtle it is. That said, Russell Crowe is so good, I didn't mind the overbearing screenplay and direction. Crowe has tremendous chemistry with everyone in the movie. He elevates the work of everyone around him and he commits so deeply to the premise that it becomes genuinely dramatic by the end.

Ryan Simpkins and Chloe Bailey are also quite good as they develop a slowly boiling romance amid the possession drama. The natural chemistry of Simpkins and Bailey is the only thing that passes for fun in the movie. Otherwise the film is almost unbearably dark and takes itself far too seriously. The cinematography follows that awful modern trend of movies that mistake c0mplete darkness for atmosphere. It's less egregious than many other too dark for their own good movies of the last few years, but it's still in that vein.

All of that said, I do, quite surprisingly, recommend The Exorcism. It's flawed but the cast is great. It's over-directed and unsubtle, but Russell Crowe is really good in it. Unlike The Pope's Exorcist where his performance is full-on goofy, Crowe appears to be applying all of his talents to this performance and he's still a powerhouse movie star and actor when he wants to be. He's also aided by a terrific supporting cast. I loved seeing David Hyde Pierce. He's not worked much in film but he's always really effective, even as many people will only call him Niles Crane. The Exorcism is in theaters nationwide on June 21st.

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