by Stef Nunez
You know how they say, “You can tell a lot about a person by where they know ‘such-and-such’ from”? By they I mean the general masses. It’s one of those phrases that seems like it’s been around since the dawn of time. Nobody really knows the origin, but most people have heard it before? Well, anyway, this isn’t something I would say about Russell Crowe. In fact, I’d be pretty confident in thinking that probably NO ONE EVER has said, “You can tell a lot about a person by where they know Russell Crowe.”
If you were wondering, I personally think of Gladiator whenever Russell Crowe is mentioned. If I were on a game show and I had to name 5 of his movies for a prize, I would definitely not win that money. I stg I’m not bullying the man, but he just hasn’t been on my radar. I can, and will proceed in this post to, name 4 Russell Crowe movies.
I refamiliarized myself with him as an actor when my partner chose 2020’s Unhinged for our dinnertime entertainment one night. It was pleasantly anxiety-inducing and while it wasn’t necessarily groundbreaking cinema, his performance did make me more willing to watch The Pope’s Exorcist – a film I was previously not at all interested in.
I don’t think I’m a snob here, I’ve just spent A LOT of time breaking down what really scares me about possession films (because I think they’re the scariest movies out there). What people are looking for in a film, especially a horror film, wildly varies, but if I’m watching a possession movie, I want it to scare me. The Pope’s Exorcist did not deliver.
I suffered through that film only to be surprised and confused to see that Russell Crowe is in ANOTHER possession move, lamely titled The Exorcism, and it’s NOT a sequel to The Pope’s Exorcist. He ditches the terrible fake Italian accent and stars as actor, father and recovering addict Anthony Miller, who is trying get back into the limelight and reconcile his relationship with his teenage daughter.
The Exorcism teases a compelling angle, covering the wicked and unexplained occurrences that can take place on the set of a spiritually charged movie. After all, the only reason Anthony was considered for the role of priest was because the previous role holder died an unexplained and horrendous death when he was alone on set.
As with most possession films, if there’s no Ouija board involved, you’re not open for demonic infestation without a Primark tote bag full of unhealed trauma. Once it’s unpacked, Anthony’s trauma is really messed up and pretty unique for these types of movies. Even taking this little nugget into consideration, I don’t think his character development or any of the relationships here had any substance. There’s some wlw representation that I don’t find believable, but that may have more to do with Chloe Bailey’s screen presence than anything else (she really took me out in Swarm).
Whatever your beliefs are, I don’t believe in naming spiritual entities, so I’ll nickname the demon they reference Mad Dawg. I’ll never understand why filmmakers will go through the effort of looking up an “actual” demon without giving its attributes as well. If you’re going for authenticity, shoot for the stars, my guy. The internet says that Mad Dawg is a biblical deity associated with child sacrifice. The only spoiler I’ll give is that there aren’t even any children in this movie to sacrifice – unless you count a 16-year-old, but I doubt Mad Dawg does.
In the spirit of not bullying Russell Crowe, I’ll leave it at this: If I didn’t have Regal Unlimited, I would have regretted spending money on a ticket to see The Exorcism.
Stef Nuñez (she/they) is the Editor-In-Chief of Sage Cigarettes Magazine as well as unhinged co-host of A Ghost in the Magazine & The Annegirls Podcast. M-F 9-5 she works in the South Florida high fashion scene, but at night and on the weekends she is a feral horror mami who frequents film and music festivals. OH, and she’s a poet.
