The Pope's Exorcist (2023)

The Pope’s Exorcist is special because it doesn’t tiptoe around the genre’s traditions—it grabs them by the collar, winks at the audience, and still finds time to genuinely unsettle you. Russell Crowe turns Father Gabriele Amorth into a larger-than-life figure with swagger, warmth, and just enough weary conviction to make the supernatural mayhem go down easy, while Julius Avery keeps the pacing brisk and the set pieces punchy. The vibe is pulpy, conspiracy-tinged horror with a campy grin, but it’s not hollow: when it wants to be scary, it commits, and the film’s momentum carries you right through the darkest corridors. If you’re looking for solemn, prestige exorcism dread, this may feel too playful—but if you want an energetic, crowd-pleasing ride with real scares and a star clearly having a great time, it’s an easy recommendation.

The Pope’s Exorcist wants to be a pulpy Vatican-meets-demonic-investigation thriller, with Russell Crowe swaggering through a possession case that opens into secret-church-conspiracy territory. The problem is it’s mostly standard exorcism horror dressed up with lore, hitting familiar beats so predictably that the “mystery” rarely feels earned, and the tone wobbles between scary and accidentally silly. Crowe is clearly having fun, but his accent and the film’s occasional cartoonish touches can pull you out right when it needs to tighten the screws. If you’re after genuinely unsettling, original horror, this may feel like reheated genre comfort food; if you just want a loud, gory, fast-moving possession romp with a charismatic lead, it’ll do the job.