The Pope's Exorcist

"Inspired by the actual files of Father Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican."

2023 1h 43m EN

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6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 3,306

HorrorThriller

Synopsis

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Father Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican, investigates a young boy's terrifying possession and ends up uncovering a centuries-old conspiracy the Vatican has desperately tried to keep hidden.

“Inspired by the actual files of Father Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican.”

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Cast

Russell Crowe
Father Gabriele Amorth
Daniel Zovatto
Father Esquibel
Alex Essoe
Julia
Peter DeSouza-Feighoney
Henry
Ralph Ineson
Asmodeus (voice)
Laurel Marsden
Amy
Franco Nero
The Pope
Ryan O'Grady
Cardinal Sullivan

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Julius Avery
Writers: Evan Spiliotopoulos, Michael Petroni, Michael Petroni
Languages: Fulah, German, Italian, Latin, English, Portuguese, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.3× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 3 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 7 languages: Fulah, German, Italian, Latin, English, Portuguese, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Pope's Exorcist Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Julius Avery, shot by Khalid Mohtaseb. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jed Kurzel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Matt Evans shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Russell Crowe and Daniel Zovatto and Alex Essoe carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Julius Avery directs. Khalid Mohtaseb behind the camera. Jed Kurzel scores. Matt Evans cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Fulah, German, Italian, Latin, English, Portuguese, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 4.3× over at the box office.
2Released 3 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 7 languages: Fulah, German, Italian, Latin, English, Portuguese, Spanish.
4Part of the "The Pope's Exorcist Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Julius Avery, shot by Khalid Mohtaseb. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Jed Kurzel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Matt Evans shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Russell Crowe and Daniel Zovatto and Alex Essoe carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Inspired by the actual files of Father Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican.".
10IMDB entry: tt13375076 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 15 themes, including "spain", "rome, italy", "pig", "vatican (holy see)".
12Released under 37 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Khalid Mohtaseb
Original score: Jed Kurzel
Editing: Matt Evans
Production design: Alan Gilmore
Costume design: Lorna Marie Mugan
Makeup / hair: Emma Moffat
VFX supervisor: Greg Strasz
Sound: Matt Yocum
Stunt coordinator: Brendan Condren
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $18,000,000
Box office: $76,987,621
Return: 428% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Pope's Exorcist (2023)

Part of

The Pope's Exorcist Collection

Movie collection about Gabriel Amorth, the Vatican's leading exorcist.

The Pope's Exorcist
2023 · this one

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Julius Avery

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-04-13
★ 6/10
Based on a real character from the murkier side of quite recent Vatican operations, Russell Crowe dons his cassock and travels to a remote abbey in Spain where his meets with "Fr. Esquibel" (Daniel Zovatto). Why? Well it seems that a young boy is being possessed by a singularly nasty demon. Now Fr. Amorth is not unused to these scenarios and is also aware that the vast majority of these situations have nothing to do with satanic practices and more to do with mental health issues. Quickly, though, he realises that this is a serious and potentially deadly demonisation and both he and his colleague must discover what went on at this place and just who their violent foe is, before they can have any hope of casting it back into the shadows. That's the plot, and to be fair Crowe actually plays his character with a bit of charisma, but the rest of this is the same old loudly scored, visual effects feast with plenty of routine dramatic scenes: screaming, eye-popping, ceiling climbing, bodies and holy water thrown about the place and this one even has a bit of the Spanish Inquisition thrown in for added authenticity. It's not that is terrible - it isn't; it is just all so very derivative. Just because the exorcist was real doesn't actually make this film any different from an whole spate of other similar films that have the same beginning, middle, and end... It will do fine on the television around Halloween, but the cinema adds little to the presentation. It's nice to see that Franco Nero is still making films, but otherwise this is adequate, but nothing more.
Manuel São Bento2023-04-15
★ 5/10
MORE SPOILER-FREE MINI-REVIEWS @ www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/mini-reviews-2023-edition "The Pope's Exorcist swings for the fences with well-directed horror sequences by Julius Avery, who wasn't afraid to take advantage of the R rating to deliver a substantial amount of gore. Unfortunately, it isn't able to escape the narrative formulas of "humans possessed by demons" repeated over several decades in this "subgenre" of exorcisms. Russell Crowe elevates the movie quite a bit with a well-rounded performance, seamlessly blending the dramatic moments with his character's comedic personality. However, the constant tonal changes create uncertainty about the type of film we're supposed to be watching. Personally, it's a mixed bag..." Rating: C+
Louisa Moore - Screen Zealots2023-04-23
★ 7/10
When you buy a ticket for a movie like “The Pope’s Exorcist” it’s pretty clear what you’re getting into. There’s a ton of Catholic imagery like the rosary, crucifixes, holy water, church rituals, and lots of prayers, all used to fight off the demonic possession of an innocent. All of the standard elements are present here, but director Julius Avery‘s film surprisingly offers a refreshing (if somewhat routine) take on the religious horror subgenre. Elevated by a well thought-out story and an engaging performance from Russell Crowe, the film tells the story of Father Gabriele Amorth (Crowe), Chief Exorcist of the Vatican (and one of the most controversial figures in the Church’s modern era). The script is inspired by the Father’s actual files of his time spent conducting exorcisms for the Catholic Church, which is enough to make your skin crawl. The movie follows Father Amorth as he travels to Spain to investigate a young boy’s (Peter DeSouza-Feighoney) possession by a powerful demon. Aided by local priest Father Esquibel (Daniel Zovatto), Father Amorth tries to help the child before it’s too late. In the process, he uncovers a centuries-old conspiracy that the Vatican has desperately tried to keep hidden. It’s a really great story, and one that feels more plausible than other religious horror fantasies about supernatural possessions. (You know what I mean). There are solid scares, bloody violence, and creepy imagery that are all done quite well. It’s slightly goofy but played with sincerity, which is why the film never teeters on the edge of camp. This isn’t a case of a movie that’s so bad it’s good, it actually is good. While it may seem like there isn’t a lot here to separate the film from other exorcism stories (especially when there are several scenes of priests reciting prayers while brandishing crosses at a child who, possessed by a demon, is screaming obscenities in a growling voice), the depth of the storytelling is what makes a huge difference. Every element clicks in unison here, from the screenplay to the direction to the better than expected performances. “The Pope’s Exorcist” is the type of movie that should be forgettable, but isn’t. I actually enjoyed it because it overdelivers on what it promises, and is a lot better than you’d expect. Towards the end of the movie, I literally starting thinking, “wow, Crowe and Zovatto should star in future installments as ass-kicking priest sidekicks,” and bam! The film went ahead and set itself up for a sequel: 199 of them, to be exact. As batty as this sounds, I would — pun intended — watch the hell out of that. By: Louisa Moore / SCREEN ZEALOTS / WWW.SCREENZEALOTS.COM