- Directed by Julius Avery
- Written by Michael Petroni, Evan Spiliotopoulos, R. Dean McCreary
- Stars Russell Crowe, Daniel Zovatto, Alex Essoe
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 43 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJXqvnT_rsk
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
It’s inspired by true events and based on a real man. But to say they bumped up the drama, action, and horror is an understatement. The acting is fine in all roles and the effects and makeup are excellent. Some viewers might think it was a little long and stretched out, but others might be good with the pacing.
Synopsis
June 4, 1987, in Italy. Father Gabriel Amorth arrives in the village to investigate a report on a man’s possession. He goes in to see the man, and he’s a real mess, tied to the bed. They have a brief conversation, and the father tricks the demon into possessing a pig instead. Then the farmer blows the pig away with a shotgun, much to the surprise of the junior priest standing next to it. Credits roll.
July 1, 1987, Castile, Spain. Mother Julia, and children Amy and Henry are Americans moving here, but none of them seem too thrilled with the plan. They meet Father Esquibel and Carlos, who are locals. The family just inherited this old abbey, and they’re all working hard to restore it. It’s a dingy, creepy old place, but it’s home for now. Henry hasn’t spoken in almost a year, since his father died.
Father Amorth attends a hearing in Rome about the Exorcism he did a few weeks ago. Amorth says he used the power of suggestion to help a confused boy. He’s the Chief Exorcist, but he acknowledges that most of his cases don’t really require real exorcisms; they’re mental cases. He says that 98% of his cases aren’t supernatural, but that last 2%— well. The panel wants to dissolve his position; even the bishops don’t believe in possession. He doesn’t react well; he says he reports only to the Pope and tells them to talk to his boss as he leaves.
At the abbey, some workers hit a gas deposit and are injured. In reality, they released something they shouldn’t have, and little Henry starts going into weird convulsions, and now he can talk again. “You’re all going to die!” Medical tests all look normal. The doctors say it’s some form of psychosis.
From the family’s point of view, it’s pretty obvious that Henry is possessed. They call in Father Esquibel, but that’s not the priest Henry wants to see.
The Pope calls in Amorth and sends him to Spain to deal with Henry. That abbey has given the church problems before. He warns Amorth that “This demon sounds dangerous.”
Father Amorth soon arrives at the abbey and Father Esquibel briefs him on what’s been going on and introduces him to the family. He very quickly heads upstairs to check out Henry. The demon says he’s come here for Amorth and knows things he shouldn’t.
Julia gives Amorth permission to do the exorcism, but he needs to know the demon’s name before he can drive him out. He gives Esquibel instructions, but the young priest doesn’t know much about demons. Their first encounter goes badly, with the demon bringing up both priests’ moral failings.
Amorth goes outside and finds an old well with the seal of the Vatican over it. What’s down there? Lots and lots of skulls of the victims of the Spanish Inquisition.
Meanwhile, Julia, Amy, and Esquibel all have bad encounters. Back in Rome, the Pope reads old reports of the demon and abbey and then has a heart attack.
Amorth finds a secret door in the basement, which leads to catacombs full of more bodies. There are signs that they did an exorcism that failed way back in 1475. The exorcist became possessed himself. It’s the King of Hell, Asmodeus, and he feeds on exorcists. He wants to possess Amorth and use him to infiltrate the church.
Both priests confess their past sins, and then it’s time to return to work. Except now, it’s in Amy as well. Amorth begs Amorth to take him and leave Henry, which he immediately does.
Everything gets calm all at once. Henry sits up and calls for Julia. Amorth tells Esquibel to get the family out quickly.
Father Amorth is obviously possessed now, with black eyes and blood everywhere. He tries to kill himself, but the demon won’t allow it. He enters the catacombs, followed by Esquibel, who tries to exorcise him.
The two priests eventually drive the demon back to Hell. They both go back to Rome and report to the Pope. The Vatican buys the abbey and dismantles the whole thing, artifacts and all.
Commentary
Who knew a Vespa could be so practical?
Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, as Henry, is really good as the demon-possessed boy. He’s very convincing. Russell Crowe is fine here, alternating between tense seriousness and telling jokes. There is some gore and obvious body makeup involved here, and all the special effects are good and fairly minimal until the end.
Kevin thought it was slow and stretched out, but I thought it was paced pretty well. There’s not a lot of action here; it’s a possession/exorcism movie. If you liked “The Exorcist,” then you’ll probably like this. It doesn’t offer anything new, but it’s all well done.