The Pope's Exorcist

Just another exorcist film. The fact that it is based on a rather colorful character (Gabriele Amorth - he actually existed and wrote some books on his profession) is a nice bonus, but it doesn't really change all that much. All the clichés are present, and having someone like Russell Crowe in the lead just adds to the cheese.

When a family inherits a chapel in Spain, they go there to clean up the place and sell it off. Once there, the renovation work unleashes a demon sealed away ages ago, who takes possession of the son right away. Father Amorth, an exorcist appointed by the pope himself, is called in to save the way. He finds that he's dealing with an actual demon.

The film benefits from a decent budget and a cool location. The finale is pretty spectacular and Crowe had a lot of fun playing Amorth, but the film neglects to be scary, gory, or horrific in any other sense. It's a defect many exorcism films are facing and one The Pope's Exorcist fails to overcome. Decent horror fodder, but nothing more.