The Pope’s Exorcist teases 199 sequels and I would watch every single one of them

There are few things better than a well-made horror movie that knows exactly how silly it’s supposed to be, and that’s why The Pope’s exorcist absolute rules. Yes, the movie where Russell Crowe plays an Italian exorcist who reports directly to the Pope himself is fantastic.

A silly movie that’s actually good (versus ironically fun) is very hard to come by, so when Crowe’s character saves the day and is then told there are 199 other exorcisms he must perform to save the world, I lit up. We should all pray that every asset gets its own movie.

At this point, a tease smacks of sequels and a wider universe of world-threatening demons to franchising and big IP. But for Pope’s Exorcist, it feels more like the light world-building of the John Wick franchise, constantly pushing its limits and letting you know there’s more to it than our hero encountered this time. And in the case of Crowe’s father Gabriele Amorth, the things he encounters are simply servants of Satan and hell-dwellers sent to fight God and make the world a little more evil.

Father Amorth is the chief exorcist of the Catholic Church and he deals with the most complicated cases. The film goes to great lengths to ensure that we know that Father Amorth is a rational and careful man, usually recommending psychological care to the allegedly possessed victims he visits, rather than actually performing an exorcism or dealing with actual demons. to go.

So when Amorth is confronted by the most powerful demon he’s ever seen in a dilapidated former abbey in Spain, it comes as a huge surprise. Amorth’s shock, and the importance of the exorcism, only grows when he stumbles upon a massive satanic conspiracy that has been hidden for hundreds of years and could threaten the entire world – an objectively awesome plot twist that would make any movie better.

Each of the film’s revelations feels like a natural – and appropriately dopey – next stop for the story, or a bit of color for the world whose explanation the film doesn’t flesh out.

But the clever world-building only works because director Julius Avery is giddy about indulging in the silliness. The exorcism genre has become stale in recent years – take the latest Conjuring film, for example – but The Pope’s exorcist playfully pulls out plot threads The exorcist, the all-timer, and its sequels. This includes a few nice nods to the underrated Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, in the idea that Father Amorth is extremely confident in his faith, rather than the trope of a man of the sheet questioning God that other series often use. Both in front of his colleagues in the Vatican, who question a botched exorcism, and in front of the literal king of hell, Father Amorth is absolutely convinced that God will see him through, whether through the faith of his conviction is or by precise knowledge. of the right prayer for every situation in which demons are fought.

The big surprise is that The Pope’s exorcist is extraordinarily well made, with constant creative shots and setups from Avery, who turned previous B-movie material into something extraordinarily fun. (See: 2018 Overlord.) The scares are exciting and inventive, as Crowe ramps up his Italian accent to full prosciutto. And by the time the demons actually arrive, they look and sound great – the latter thanks to the reliable, hoarse voice of The Green Knightby Ralph Ineson.

The Pope’s exorcist doesn’t match the bone-deep terror or filmmaking heights of the original exorcist, but sets itself apart by building the whole movie on the understanding that the whole premise is a bit silly – and it’s never afraid to get into that, like when Amorth reminds a jury of Vatican peers that if they have a problem with him she can take on his boss (the pope). It’s well made and takes the scary moments seriously, but approaches each scene as an opportunity to keep the audience having fun, whether through scares or jokes. It fits perfectly alongside the knowing, self-contained gag horror of movies like M3GAN And Barbarian, which is a welcome change from the morbid and stuffy exorcism genre. So bring on the demons; Vader Amorth has 199 more exorcisms to perform, and I think a sequel to each is exactly what we deserve.

The Pope’s exorcist is in theaters now and is destined to become the number 1 movie on Netflix in a few months.