The Pope's Exorcist (2023)
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A seasoned priest must confront a powerful demon and a hidden history of the Church to save a possessed boy.
The story
In 1987, Father Gabriele Amorth, the Pope's personal exorcist, is a man of faith and practical experience. When a teenage boy named Enzo is possessed by a demon in an Italian village, Amorth performs a harrowing exorcism. Years later, the narrative shifts to a family from the United States who move to an old Spanish abbey. After a mysterious fire, the young son, Henry, begins to behave strangely and is identified as being possessed. The Pope sends Amorth to the abbey to investigate and perform the necessary rites, leading him into a confrontation with a powerful demonic presence and the secrets of the Church.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1987, Father Gabriele Amorth, the Pope's personal exorcist, performs a successful but controversial exorcism on a boy in Italy. The story then moves to the present, where a family travels to a Spanish abbey. Their son, Henry, becomes possessed after a fire at the site. Amorth is dispatched by the Pope to perform the exorcism. During the process, Amorth and a local priest, Father Esquibel, face a powerful demon identified as Asmodeus. Amorth discovers a secret history of the abbey, where a founder of the Inquisition was hidden away. To defeat the demon, Amorth and Esquibel must undergo confession and absolution. The final exorcism succeeds only when Amorth offers himself as a host to trap Asmodeus. The demon is banished, the Pope and Henry recover, and the Vatican takes over the abbey. Amorth and Esquibel are then tasked by the Vatican to investigate 199 other sites associated with evil.
- First release year
- 2023
- Runtime (minutes)
- 103
- Production countries
- United States; United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Julius Avery
- Writers
- Michael Petroni · screenplay; Evan Spiliotopoulos · screenplay; R. Dean McCreary · story; Chester Hastings · story; Jeff Katz · story
- Cast and characters
- Russell Crowe · Father Gabriele Amorth; Daniel Zovatto · Father Esquibel; Alex Essoe · Julia Vasquez; Franco Nero · the Pope; River Hawkins · Enzo; Peter DeSouza-Feighoney · Henry Vasquez; Laurel Marsden · Amy Vasquez; Cornell John · Bishop Lumumba; Ryan O'Grady · Cardinal Sullivan; Carrie Munroe · Adella; Bianca Bardoe · Rosaria; Ralph Ineson · the voice of Asmodeus
- Genres
- supernatural horror
- Themes
- sacrifice; faith
- Tone and mood
- supernatural; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- exorcism; religious; demonic
- Source material / true-story basis
- An Exorcist Tells His Story (1990) and An Exorcist: More Stories (1992) by Father Gabriele Amorth.
- Content notes
- horror
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics and was noted for its themes of sacrifice and the performance of Russell Crowe.
- Reported review scores
- CinemaScore · score: B- · scale: A+ to F; PostTrak · score: 79%
- Production trivia
- The film was released on Netflix where it ranked as the number one film in America for nine straight days.; A sequel was announced in April 2023.; The Pope's Exorcist 2 was greenlit in May 2024.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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