There are several similarities between the Catholic Church and the film industry. Among them is a tendency to let powerful people get away with unconscionable behavior. In that insidious overlap, director Joshua John Miller finds the heart of “The Exorcism,” an ambitious social commentary that commingles Hollywood’s penchant for wrongdoing with the abuses of the Vatican for a unique portrait of an actor unraveled.
On the one hand, it’s a mediocre genre movie with a title as mundane as it is misleading. (If you’re inquiring about the other supernatural possession flick starring Russell Crowe, that’s actually “The Pope’s Exorcist,” which came out last year and, yes, sucks.) On the other hand, even as a muddy character study making only the weakest attempts to scare, “The Exorcis-m” is still a bigger treat for fans of “The Exorcis-t” than its recent flop sequel, “The Exorcist: Believer.”
Why? In a year that’s already seen two major horror movies competing for the title of Best Virgin Nun to Give Birth to the Antichrist, Miller and co-writer M.A. Fortin have miraculously managed to achieve a kind of original sin. Caught somewhere between the #MeToo-era “The Assistant” and your run-of-the-mill “The Conjuring” nonsense, this atypical drama makes clever critique of two institutions — and lets the toxic spirit that binds them hang in the air like a cinematic sign of the cross. It’s imperfect and awkward with a last act that swan dives straight into pavement. Still, “The Exorcism” is nothing if not encouraging in its core creativity.
A Miramax and Outerbanks Entertainment release, this spiritual companion to William Friedkin’s horror masterpiece from 1973 is known to genre aficionados primarily because of its director’s dad, Jason Miller. The late actor played Father Damien Karras in the original film, earning his only Academy Award nomination for the part. The meta new movie opens on a multi-level suburban house, painstakingly recreated on a soundstage for a remake of something they’re calling “The Georgetown Project.” (Hello to you too, the legal team at Universal.) Those especially well-versed in the history of Friedkin’s supposedly “cursed” production — heavily documented and connected to at least nine cast and crew deaths over the years — will appreciate the establishing shot of “The Exorcism” as an homage to the tortured world in which Miller’s father worked.
At the outset of the film within a film, an unnamed actor playing the Father Karras role (Adrian Pasdar) is seen alone. He’s practicing his mysterious briefcase entrance and the stairway ascent to the possessed girl’s bedroom when suddenly something supernatural seems to rush the set to kill him. With no witnesses, the would-be scream king’s untimely demise is ruled a suicide, and the pastoral posting for “Father Arlington” (sure!) needs filling on the call sheet soon after.
Enter Russell Crowe as Tony, a washed-up ‘80s action star and recovering alcoholic cast against type by the douchey director Peter (Adam Goldberg). In the first of many disquieting method acting moments, the bearded film bro suspiciously suggests his ex-Catholic actor pray during his audition… and likes it a little too much when he does.
With a spotty track record in the public eye and his newly un-estranged daughter Lee (Ryan Simpkins) not letting him forget it, Tony may be battling demons, but he’s no priest. The death of the former A-lister’s wife a few years back left the actor not just riddled with guilt over his tragic romance and absentee parenting, but he’s also struggling to maintain the faith needed to show up for his daughter and the professional comeback he thinks he needs to make now.
“You’re irredeemable,” the director caricature hisses at Crowe in an early scene that puts the “Gladiator” star on the wrong end of a “Whiplash” vignette. Ostensibly, the tough love moment is an ill-advised attempt by Peter to capture something “real” for his IP cash-grab, but it’s also a reflection of the controversial legacy left behind by Friedkin’s sometimes alarming behaviors. The filmmaker reportedly fired guns inside and at will while shooting “The Exorcist” — just to keep his performers on their toes. Here, the fictional Peter isn’t physically abusive to Tony, but he’s manipulative and might as well be saying, “You’re replaceable!” to a man already on the brink. Crowe meets the moment with all the kaleidoscopic vulnerability that kid actor Linda Blair brought to Regan MacNeil more than 50 years ago, stress rippling across Tony’s face like a tentacle busting through skin even as the VFX fails to impress.
With Crowe and Simpkins as rock-solid scene partners, the film’s most important role reversal sees Lee step into the part of a maternal Ellen Burstyn figure for her troubled dad. Working as a production assistant on “The Georgetown Project” by day and witnessing the effects of Tony’s ongoing breakdown by night, the 16-year-old girl falls victim to an inverted parent-child relationship evocative of the incongruences seen in real domestic neglect. As Tony begins sleepwalking through dark hallways, speaking in tongues, and rejecting his medication at home, two questions play out in parallel for Lee: Is this man really possessed by a demon? And if not, what triggered his apocalyptic relapse?
On the confused fringes, on-set Catholic consultant for the movie Father Conor (David Hyde Pierce, hugely wasted) offers Lee spiritual guidance and practical advice. Simultaneously, love interest Blake (Chloe Bailey, charming) makes the case that the movie itself has summoned an evil presence that’s now inside Tony. To speed things along, there’s also supporting actor Joe (Sam Worthington), waiting in the wings to take over his competition’s character at a moment’s notice. With painful cliches — LOUD NOISES! FLASHY LIGHTS! MORE LOUD NOISES! — appearing where inventive supernatural imagery should be, “The Exorcism” is at its most clumsy when resolving these storylines near the climax. Suffice to say, attempting to end a delicate horror puzzle with a brutally unsubtle action sequence is the filmmaking equivalent of treating a demon child via gun.
Although this otherwise distinctive work might betray itself as an ill-informed imitator of terror in the end, Miller and Fortin’s shared imagination pulls off some miraculous tricks with their source material. It’s got plot holes for stigmata and too many ideas to proselytize anyone toward the creepy Catholic subgenre — but for this unrepeatable artistic consideration, the nerdy backdrop of legacy horror is an ideal altar.
Grade: B
A Vertical release from Miramax and Outerbanks Entertainment, “The Exorcism” hits theaters June 21.
