Movie · 2024 · Horror, Thriller · 1h 36m · R · English
Curator score: 0.2/10 (49.6K ratings)
They were making a cursed movie. They were warned not to. They should have listened.
Overview
A troubled actor begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film, leading his estranged daughter to wonder if he's slipping back into his past addictions or if there's something more sinister at play.
Ratings
Curator score: 0.2/10
IMDb: 4.2/10
Letterboxd: 1.77/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 26%
Metacritic: 46
TMDB: 5.0/10
Director
Joshua John Miller
Production
Miramax, Outerbanks Entertainment
Cast
Russell Crowe, Ryan Simpkins, Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg, Adrian Pasdar, David Hyde Pierce, Tracey Bonner, Marcenae Lynette, Joshua John Miller, Hallie Samuels, Samantha Mathis, Anna Maria Reyer, Jayden Fontaine, Zach Padlo, Josh Warren, Hannah Black, Joya Joseph, Scott Rapp, Jobie James
Where to watch
Hulu, AMC+, Philo, Shudder
Curator Review
Verdict
A meta-exorcism premise and Russell Crowe’s committed oddball energy give it a few sparks, but the movie is too muddled, undercooked, and unintentionally funny to recommend as a satisfying horror-thriller.
Best for
Viewers curious about high-concept, self-referential horror
Fans of messy, camp-adjacent genre failures
Russell Crowe completists
Skip if
You want a tight, scary possession movie
You’re looking for coherent mythology or strong payoff
You’re allergic to tonal whiplash and obvious behind-the-scenes baggage
Overview
The Exorcism has a hook that sounds better than the movie that follows: an actor on a troubled production starts to unravel, and the film keeps asking whether the danger is supernatural or psychological. That ambiguity could have been rich, but the execution is too scattered to build real dread or emotional momentum.
Worth noting
What lingers most is the strange, almost accidental comedy of it all. The movie piles on possession imagery, family trauma, addiction subtext, and movie-within-a-movie self-awareness, but rarely lands on a clear tone. Instead of escalating tension, it often feels like a collection of half-formed ideas fighting for attention.
Bottom line
There are moments where the cast seems to be aiming at a better film than the one on screen, and Crowe in particular gives the material more force than it deserves. But if you’re looking for a genuinely effective horror thriller, this one is more curiosity than payoff.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Joe A (2★) · 2478 likes
Russell Crowe’s second exorcism movie in 1 year but in this one Russell Crowe (the actor) plays Tony (the character) who also just happens to be an actor (like Russell Crowe) and is acting in an exorcism movie (not The Exorcism or The Pope’s Exorcist) as an exorcist (not a pope’s exorcist) and the fake movie within The Exorcism is called “The Georgetown Project”, which is a clear reference to the real movie The Exorcist (1973), a movie by the way, in which the real director of The Exorcism (Joshua John Miller) is the son of Jason Miller, who played Father Karras in The Exorcist (1973).
No joke.
Morbiusisgood (2★) · 1301 likes
This being completely unrelated to The Pope's
Exorcist cracks me up
Amanda the Jedi · 1041 likes
The fact that they stopped filming this movie during the pandemic then decided it was worth coming back to finish it 4 years later is astounding
The fact that this is not related to The Pope's Exorcist is astounding
corey👻 (1.5★) · 730 likes
russell crowe blink twice if you’re being held at gunpoint
lottie🦕 (1.5★) · 499 likes
she’s never gonna eat your pussy like i can -EXCUSE ME???!!!! happy pride month i guess