★★
The Exorcism (2024) is a supernatural horror film that tracks the unraveling mind of troubled actor Anthony Miller (Russell Crowe). While filming an exorcism-based horror movie, Anthony’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic – leading his estranged daughter Lee (Ryan Simpkins) to wonder if he’s relapsing into old addictions or if something far more sinister is at play.
The film’s production history is perhaps more intriguing than its plot. Originally titled The Georgetown Project, this film is directed by Joshua John Miller (there’s that surname again) is the son of Jason Miller, who famously portrayed Father Damien Karras in the classic horror film The Exorcist (1973), and the location and distinctive set of the fictional movie-within-the-movie all suggest that whats being worked on is nothing less than a remake of The Exorcist. That would make “Anthony Miller” the equivalent of Jason Miller in the original, with Jason Miller’s son directing the story of Anthony Miller’s fractured relationship with their own child, and how that relates to their personal (and non-personal) demons. The intertextuality here, and the emphasis on artificiality and the “exorcism house” set, place The Exorcism firmly in the “meta horror” arena (adding to its credentials in this regard, Scream writer Kevin Williamson is credited as a producer).
However, something appears to have gone awry behind the scene. Principal photography began in November 2019 and wrapped up in December of the same year. Yet it wasn’t until April 2024 that the film was rebranded as The Exorcism, before receiving this June release.
As for the results: Russell Crowe delivers a compelling performance, and the film is certainly beautifully shot and lit. However, the film leans heavily on familiar exorcism tropes and suffers from erratic editing, incomplete storytelling, and tonal inconsistencies – especially in its final scenes, whose b-movie sturm-und-drang feels facile and disconnected from the rest of the film. These feel like classic hallmarks of having been seriously battered around in the production process.
Despite all of this, the film remains in interesting conversation with the original The Exorcist, and there is fun to be had in a couple of the jump scares, and in David Hyde Pierce’s portrayal of a damaged “consultant priest” with a passive-yet-menacing air to him. Adam Goldberg is also strong as an asshole director, and Tracey Bonner does good work with little material as the actor playing the ‘mother’ in The Georgetown Project. Sadly Chloe Bailey fails to offer much as the actor playing the possessed girl, who also starts a no-chemistry relationship with Lee Miller. Sam Worthington has a role as a rival actor, but his part is so truncated it’s hard to judge his performance. Perhaps it ended up on the cutting room floor.
The Exorcism intermittently succeeds in blending horror, family dynamics, and psychological tension, and Its production timeline and ties to The Exorcist franchise add to its allure, making it a must-see for fans of that franchise. It does not succeed as a film in its own right, but it offers an intriguing and borderline watchable companion piece to the classic original. Maybe one day we’ll get a third part to this triptych, in the form of a tell-all behind the scenes documentary on this production.
The Exorcism is in cinemas from 21 June,
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