2023-05-09 19:48:32
Julius Avery’s film fulfills its function very honestly, allowing Russell Crowe to burst the screen in the role of Gabriele Amorth, an Italian priest who really existed, who inspired this horrific feature film of classic and neat invoice.
In The Vatican Exorcist, a sequence worth its weight of Missal, the one where Russell Crowe confesses to an incredulous young Spanish priest a sentence worthy of a free thinker: “The Devil doesn’t like jokes…
Read alsoThe Exorcist of the Vatican by Julius Avery: why on earth does the exorcist still fascinate so much in the cinema?
From the outset, the tone is set. Even if this horror film by Julius Avery (Overlord, The Samaritan) is inspired by the real archives of Father Gabriele Amorth (1925-2016), chief exorcist of the Vatican for nearly 36 years, he does not lose sight of this rebellious spirit, this small step aside which makes a “film exorcist” cannot be taken seriously in 2023, exactly half a century after the release of William Friedkin’s seminal film starring Max Von Sydow and Linda Blair.
Set in 1987, the plot of The Vatican Exorcist follows the wanderings of Father Amorth, a cultivated priest, deeply pious, but resistant to superstitions, who humbly rides a Lambretta scooter through the streets of Rome.
While the high authorities of the Roman clergy summon this non-conformist priest to question his behavior, which is heterodox to say the least, and his religious convictions which are nevertheless solid, the Pope (camped by the legendary Franco Nero who logically embodies John Paul II ) calls on Father Amorth for an urgent mission.
A young American exile with his mother and sister in an old Spanish monastery seems possessed by the devil. Neither one nor two, Amorth takes the plane and goes there to investigate. His investigations will lead him to uncover a centuries-old conspiracy linked to the Inquisition, which the Vatican has desperately tried to hide from the eyes of the world for centuries.
On this fairly classic plot, Avery has created a 2.0 horror film in the form of a successful tribute to William Friedkin’s founding masterpiece released just 50 years ago. If the film does not derogate from the sacrosanct rules put in place by The Exorcist from 1973, The Vatican Exorcist has the intelligence to modernize its approach by playing the card of humility and self-mockery. We certainly find the demonic voices coming from beyond the grave, the furniture which trembles, the possessed who steal, the bloody stigmata and the exuberant make-up which indicate the presence of Evil. But all this horrific folklore knows how to keep its distance. The exorcist will of course use a crucifix, holy water, holy oil, a Missal and a purple stole to fight against the Devil.
Russell Crowe embodies the exorcist priest Gabriele Amorth with conviction and happily drives his Lambretta scooter through the streets of Rome. © Sony
But what makes the film especially interesting is the convincing presence of Russell Crowe. Like Anthony Hopkins twelve years ago who played an exorcist priest in The ritualthe Oscar-winning actor, unforgettable Gladiator for Ridley Scott, it seems he was very invested and amused in the role of father Amorth. By lending him his imposing stature and his cunning bonhomie, Crowe literally bursts the screen in the role of this “James Bond of the Exorcists”a great connoisseur of contemporary psychology, who fights the demon with the energy of… a gladiator.
The Hollywood star admits it bluntly: “The function of chief exorcist of the Vatican really exists. Father Gabriele Amorth held this office for thirty-six years and participated in tens of thousands of exorcisms. This immediately interested me. When I accept a role, I like to feel the responsibility of portraying characters who really existed. Because we must try to restore the authenticity of this person.
The homage to Friedkin’s film is assumed. Basically, the greatest strength here is undoubtedly not to take itself too seriously, while offering the spectators its dose of dread and shivers. We come out smiling. Mass has been said. Without too much pomp or ceremony…
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