I HAVEN’T been this mortified for Russell Crowe since the night he was refused entry from Nancy Blake’s on Upper Denmark Street.
His latest film, The Exorcism, sees the Academy Award winner as a troubled actor who begins to unravel shooting a supernatural horror film. It could almost be autobiographical it is so terrifyingly awful.
You would think after last year’s boo-boo in the shape of The Pope’s Exorcist, Crowe might have stayed clear of anything to do with demonic possessions for awhile. But as the doormen in one popular Limerick watering hole will tell you, there’s absolutely no talking to the Gladiator star at times.
The Exorcism is one of the worst films of the year, and not in a so bad it’s good kind of way. Hackneyed and a total muddle, it has nothing new to bring to the genre of infernal slumber parties.
Instead, Joshua John Miller’s film comes with an overused bag of tricks and a musty cassock that we have seen countless times before.
Get behind me Satan, indeed!
Crowe plays the role of Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who is trying to resuscitate his career when he lands the lead role of a priest in a supernatural horror film about an exorcism. What starts out as a “lucky break” for the intoxicated thespian takes a dark turn, when the demon at the heart of the film’s plot decides to make a momentous cameo appearance.
Aiming for authenticity, director (Adam Goldberg) subjects the struggling actor to humiliating treatment, forcing him to confront past traumas and accelerating his decline. Witnessing his suffering, Anthony’s estranged daughter (Ryan Simpkins) turns to the film’s priest advisor (David Hyde Pierce) for help.
Has the pressure of making the film sent Anthony back to his old addictions, or has it opened a portal to something more sinister?
Hells knows!
(1/5)
