The Exorcism Parent Guide

Devastated by his wife’s fatal illness, actor Tony (Russell Crowe) fell into a bottle. The drinking turned into a drug problem, which torpedoed his career and family life. Now that he’s out of rehab, Tony is trying to patch things up with his daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins). He thinks he might have a shot at getting some work, too: the role of a priest on an exorcism movie has just opened up after mysterious on-set death of the lead actor.

Once he gets the job, Tony begins to second-guess his enthusiasm for the role. The stress of the shoot and pressure from the director triggers some of his own trauma, and Tony’s having a hard time coping. Lee has noticed strange behavior on the part of her dad and suspects he’s started drinking again – but it looks like something else might be affecting him. Something far, far stranger.

If you’ve seen any exorcism movie by this point, you should have a pretty good idea what to expect. As the title suggests, this movie plays it safe; just a straight up-the-middle demonic possession horror flick. Same tropes, same jump scares, same same, only same. Russell Crowe has some strong moments, as does David Hyde Pierce as Father Conor, but don’t expect them to elevate this otherwise familiar fare.

This flick does have some distinctive problems, though, when it comes to negative content. Since the movie is less about actual priests than most in the possession genre, there’s a lot more cussing to wade through. The film also has a subplot about ecclesiastical child sexual abuse, which is likely to be upsetting for some viewers. I think there’s a way to make that angle work in this kind of movie, but it doesn’t quite land here. Viewers can also expect brief teen drug use, and infrequent bloody violence just to keep you attentive. As R-rated horror movies go, this one is pretty tame: there’s a bit of blood and a little graphic violence, but honestly, I’ve seen worse in some PG-13 movies. The bigger issues for parents to consider are the mature themes and profanity.

Coming hot on the heels of last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist, also starring Crowe as the titular demon-banisher, it’s starting to feel like he’s got a type. Crowe is decent in both films, but I’m not sure that it’s enough to justify this production’s very familiar runtime – at least for genre fans. If you, unlike me, haven’t watched a couple of dozen exorcism movies, then The Exorcism will probably be a lot more fun. Yes, it may be familiar, but it handles itself competently. Truth be told, I was pleasantly surprised by the film. I was expecting an hour and a half of unwatchable dreck, so mediocrity felt like a huge improvement. Maybe that’s the secret to enjoying the film - low expectations.