What would Possess you to see 'The Pope's Exorcist' 

By Shane Siddall

Russel Crowe plays Father Gabriele Amorth in the latest addition to the exorcist film The Pope’s Exorcist. The movie itself takes place in the 1980s  with a family who recently inherited an old Spanish Abbey. The family has three members who include Julia (the mother), Amy (the daughter), and Henry (the son) who have recently lost their husband and father in a tragic car accident. As the family is moving in, the Abbey is under restoration while the living quarters are being modified to accommodate the family. During these renovations, they awaken an ancient evil, the king of demons, Asmodeus. In this story, the characters will have to face their darkest demons to defeat the king of demons.  

One thing that is very heavily played into is Father Amorth’s witty sense of humor and for most of the movie it makes him a very likable character but by the end of the movie, it can be a bit much and it is overplayed somewhat. Also, there is a sense that the director was very purposely playing heavy into the Exorcist themes which makes the movie seem less serious but at the same time makes the movie very engaging and does keep viewers entertained throughout the film. 

In addition,  the acting of Russel Crowe(Armorth), and Daniel Zovatto(Esquibel) are fantastic and very believable reactions to the situation that they find themselves in, but the same cannot be said for the rest of the cast. For Instance, Alex Essoe (Julia) was seemingly far too willing to accept the fact that her son was possessed by a demon when most people would have understandable doubts about that claim and the legitimacy of their knowledge. Secondly, the acting of Peter DeSouza-Feighoney(Henry) is cheesy which is to be expected from a child actor playing a possessed child, but despite the circumstances did a passable job overall. But there are some other redeeming actors like Laurel Marsden(Amy) who for the most part did have a very believable reaction to the fact that in reality she was powerless to do anything to help her possessed brother and was being constantly harassed by the demon as she was another easy target for it. 

Finally, the plot is moderate at best, as the story is questionable and the situation that they find themselves in is highly unlikely even by cheesy movie standards. But despite all of that overall I would say that the movie "The Pope’s Exorcist" is worth the watch if you aren’t looking for a very serious toned movie that has some horror elements to it, If I had to give the movie a rating on a scale of one to ten, it would receive a six. With the movie being very entertaining but at the same time having a questionable plot and subpar acting. But is it worth the watch the simple answer in yes, as long as your not looking for a movie that takes itself too seriously, and as long as the viewer dosen’t take the movie too seriously as well.