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The demonic thriller of Julius Avery, “The Pope’s Exorcist”, was released in April 2023, but I think he knows in his heart that it is a January film. “The Pope’s exorcist” concerns Father Gabriele Amorth, a real priest who worked as a specialized exorcist for the diocese of Rome, the district that the pope himself supervises. Amorth was one of the founding members of the International Association of Exorcists, a very real enclave of some 900 priests who specialize in demonic possession. Amorth wrote two memoirs on the basis of his experiences as an exorcist (“An exorcist tells his story” And “An exorcist: more stories”), And the writers of “The Pope’s Exorcist” extrapolated them in a very loose cinematographic adaptation.
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Russell Crowe, trying a very thick Italian accent, plays Amorth, and the film details a specific demonic possession which he met in 1987. Amorth is seen serving a fictitious Italian pope played by Franco Nero, even if the Polish Jean-Paul II was the Holy Father at the time. Amorth is responsible for going to Spain to examine the possible demonic possession of a young boy named Henry (Peter Desouza-Feighoney), an American child who has just moved to an abbey abbey with his mother and sister (Alex Essoe and Laurel Marsden). One of the strengths of “The Pope’s Exorcist” is the sight of Father Amorth accelerating towards his destination on a Vespa, bearing shades and a Fedora. The image was fun enough to inspire the scores Snarky unauthorized t-shirts.
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The recent death of Pope Francis had the public of the films in 2024 “Conclave”, a thriller on the election of a new Pope, foul, as well as “the two popes”, the 2019 dramatization of the conversations held between Pope Benèdit XVI and Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (who would become Pope Francis after the unexpected withdrawal of Pope Francis). Anyone with a Hulu subscription, however, would do well to align “the exorcist of the pope”. We can also go from sublime to ridicule.
The Pope’s exorcist is very silly
And don’t be mistaken, “The Pope’s Exorcist” is very ridiculous. By being based on a real person, the filmmakers may have felt that their cheesy possession thriller would stand out from the existing “exorcist” “exorcist” Knockoffs since 1973, but this was not the case. “The Pope’s Exorcist” has a fairly predictable intrigue, and stands out mainly due to Crowe’s committed performance.
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As mentioned, Amorth goes to Spain to exorcise a demon from an American boy. He teams up with a local Spanish priest named Eskibel (Daniel Zovatto), and they find a mysterious secret on the abbey where Henry Vit. Do not give too much, but everything links to a mysterious evil priest at the time of the Spanish Inquisition, and to the demon of the asmode which he once tried to exorcise. There are amusing sequences of the Indiana Jones type in which Amorth and Eskibel find hidden catacombs under the Spanish abbey. The film ends by a continuation of a continuation in which a Vatican representative extracts a map of 199 proud sites which must be studied. Amorth and Eskibel will return, implicit, direct these investigations and, probably, will exorcise the demons to each.
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Made for only $ 18 million, “The Pope’s Exorcist” was a modest success, which earns $ 77 million. Critics were mixed on the film, and he only obtained a 50% approval note on Rotten Tomatoes (on the basis of 107 criticism). Positive and negative criticisms have agreed that the film was cheesy and wide, but some criticisms revealed that more entertaining than others. A suite was indeed Greenlot, although few details are currently known. It was only worth it if Crowe took the trouble to come back. Doubly, if he brings his vespa.
As mentioned, “The Pope’s Exorcist” is on Hulu. Get popcorn, and perhaps a strong sacramental wine (if you drink age) and celebrate Pope Francis’s life by looking at one of the most silly demon thrillers of recent years.
