After portraying the Vatican’s O.G. in last year’s “The Pope’s Exorcist,” Russell Crowe ventures into a new realm in the supernatural thriller “The Exorcism.” This time, he’s not a priest battling Satan but an actor wrestling with his own demons in a role that showcases the Oscar-winning actor’s versatility. Yes, the Prince of Darkness shows up, possessive as always, as the movie-within-a-movie concept featured in the film recalls William Friedkin’s 1973 classic. There’s a reason for that. Director Joshua John Miller is the son of Jason Miller, who played Father Damien Karras in “The Exorcist.”
The film opens on the closed set of a new horror film, “The Georgetown Project,” with Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans’s eerie score setting the mood. The familiar brownstone, reminiscent of the MacNeil residence, instantly recalls 1973’s “The Exorcist.” An actor (Adrian Pasdar) walks through the fabricated home, split open on a soundstage, reciting lines while preparing for his role as chief exorcist. He’s not alone. Tragedy strikes the haunted set. Time to recast. Interesting trivia: Pasdar starred with director Miller in Kathryn Bigelow’s 1987 vampire film “Near Dark.”
Crowe plays a washed-up actor named Tony Miller, who fell from grace while battling drug and alcohol abuse. He lost his wife to Cancer, and he’s estranged from his teenage daughter Lee (Ryan Simpkins). When she’s expelled from a Catholic boarding school after protesting the firing of a gay counselor, she returns to live with her father. The two slowly begin working on their fractured relationship. Simpkins delivers a mature performance as a teenager forced into the caregiver role by her unstable father.
Tony auditions for the exorcist role and gets it after groveling in front of the a-hole director Peter (Adam Goldberg), who hangs the actor’s troubled past over his head, leading to a few humiliating moments. Crowe’s performance is much better than the film. He gives 100% as Tony battles his inner demons, including guilt and regret.
The supporting cast includes Chloe Bailey as Blake, an actress playing the possessed Linda Blair role, and Sam Worthington as Joe, an actor cast as the second priest alongside Tony in the “Georgetown” film. These are interesting casting choices, especially since both are talented actors whose roles are diminished to a few scenes. Bailey at least gets a romance scene with Simpkins, but Worthington is just wasted; the role could have gone to an unknown actor.
The surprise here is David Hyde Pierce as Father Conor, a priest serving as a consultant on the film set. The “Frasier” star, cast against type, is very good as the frail and humble man of the cloth whose interactions with Tony trigger memories of sexual abuse at the hands of a priest when Tony was young.
Joshua John Miller and his partner M.A. Fortin, the two have been in a relationship for over two decades, cowrote “The Exorcism,” incorporating queer themes with those of abuse, giving the story deeper context which could have been explored further had the film been imagined as a psychological thriller (as in the better first half) rather than a typical horror film, as it becomes by the finale.
Over the last 50 years, stories have emerged of bizarre occurrences during the filming of “The Exorcist,” from fires and technical problems to nine deaths. Jason Miller used to tell his son stories about the cursed production of the film, which inspired “The Exorcism.” Crowe’s character battles many of the real demons that Miller’s father fought, including alcohol and drug abuse.
When the jump scares become more frequent, and the overdone CGI kicks in, the film loses its mojo and becomes a parody of the 1973 classic. Once Satan shows up for his big cameo, you’re not sure if he’s taken control of Tony or if Crowe’s character is on a bender. Here, possession means glassy, blood-shot eyes and a nasty temper.
(2 ½ stars)
Now showing in theaters
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