The Pope’s Exorcist (Blu-ray Review)
Movies that feature exorcism can either be the stuff of cinema legend (The Exorcist, The Exorcism of Emily Rose) or pure trash (Prey for the Devil). When this Russell Crowe shocker was released earlier in the spring, it did some decent business overseas and divided critics. Bringing The Pope’s Exorcist home on 6/13, you can now see for yourself where this newest entry in the exorcism subgenre fits. You’ll find a paid link at the end for you to snag yourself a copy!
Film 
Inspired by the actual files of Father Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican (Academy Award®-winner Russell Crowe; 2000, Best Actor, Gladiator), The Pope’s Exorcist follows Amorth as he investigates a young boy’s terrifying possession and ends up uncovering a centuries-old conspiracy the Vatican has desperately tried to keep hidden.
The film begins in the late 80’s as Father Amorth rides his Vespa to a small village in Italy to see a man allegedly possessed by a demon. While performing the exorcism, the demon is passed to a pig, who is then killed to stop the demon. This unorthodox exorcism catches Amorth some fire with the Vatican tribunal, but being practical, humorous, unbothered and the literal “Pope’s Exorcist” serves Amorth well. He tells the tribunal, who wants to have him fired to take the issue up with the Pope himself and moves on. Fast forward to some months later, The Pope (Franco Nero) assigns Father Amorth to investigate a claim of a possessed child at a Spanish Abbey. Upon arrival Amorth meets Henry, Julie and Amy, the inheritors of the Abbey. The Abbey is under construction for restoration and a hopefully quick sale. Henry, the one allegedly possessed, has been taken over by a demon after stumbling across a concealed area in the basement.
The film borders on many themes that films in a similar vein would. The hallowed ground near where dark demons once lived, the passing of possession on to a weak adult or young child, the medical examination scene which is a close cropped less graphic version than the one in The Exorcist. These things could ensue some eye rolling in a lesser film. For this exorcism iteration, you don’t necessarily scoff. The film is based off actual books written by Father Amorth in 1990 and 1992 respectively. With the real Amorth passing away in 2016, the recounting can only really be given to how it was written and how the filmmakers choose to make it translate to the screen. I doubt the visual fireworks we see on the screen were as vibrantly realized as they are for us. I also doubt that everything is so neat and tidy in the real story as they are in the film. This is to be expected. The interesting bits for me come in the performance by Russell Crowe, who as of late seems to be judged more on his appearance and film choices as opposed to his acting chops. Crowe was never a bad actor, even if some of his films could be classified as such. Embodying Father Amorth, you see that Crowe wants to invoke the sly humor and tact that Amorth often presented in the face of the public eye. The little quirks work, and Crowe stands high above some of the more ungainly pieces in the film.
Besides Russell Crowe, the supporting cast of people you’ve most likely seen on your TV deliver the best they can from the limited space they’ve got to do work in. The film is a showcase for Crowe to flex dramatic chops and do a film different from much of his filmography. The direction the film moves in is most certainly forward, with very little in the way of slow bits. As a horror film, I’d say if you’re looking for a scare show to look elsewhere. As a supernatural thriller with bits of drama, this film works better in that way. I wouldn’t go into this movie blindly expecting to be spooked until the credits roll. This is not that movie. But for the curious, this one is a solid little thriller with a little pep, some decent moments of humanity and humor, and a door wide open at the end of the film for more Pope’s Exorcist entries. Judging from the low domestic numbers, I doubt we will see that, but I don’t see why there wouldn’t be a market out there looking to see Father Amorth back at it… perhaps a TV show?
Video
Encoding: MPEG4-AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Layers: BD-50
Clarity/Detail: As with most films these days, this one is struck from a 4K DI. Judging from the box office returns, it’s easy to see why The Pope’s Exorcist did not receive the 4K disc treatment from Sony. Strange to say that after watching and being disappointed by 65 at home, but I digress – The Pope’s Exorcist is nonetheless a solid presentation on Blu-ray. The image is flawless and sharp, free of grain and holding up to any modern film released in HD
Depth: Nice depth features throughout. Interiors are neat and rich, with nice delineation and texture with the various set pieces. Outdoor scenes really pop with clarity, and shots of the landscape can be a very nice treat for the eyes.
Black Levels: No black crush here, sirs! The black levels here are on par with a good 4K presentation, but of course they are – This is after all a downscaled piece of material, so we should see nice deep blacks!
Color Reproduction: Darkness abounds in this presentation, but darkness does not drain a single color from the palette. Whether we are looking at papal robes or burning fires, colors pop. Nothing drab to be seen anywhere!
Flesh Tones: Skin tones look natural unless the characters are possessed, and there are great variants of natural tones throughout.
Noise/Artifacts: Flawless
Audio 
Audio Format(s): English, French and Spanish DTS-HD 5.1, Thai Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified and Traditional), Thai
Dynamics: Immersive or not, The Pope’s Exorcist features so very solid audio. The music is nice and full, the dialogue is clean and clear, and the surrounds and LFE all feature prominently when called upon
Height: N/A
Low Frequency Extension: The subwoofer gets some work from the jump scares, musical score and the sound effects that come from a scary movie. The rumble feels just right in every aspect.
Surround Sound Presentation: The surrounds come into play to keep the creepy nature of the film going. The speakers stay active throughout and make the main setting, The Abbey, feel like it’s right in your room!
Dialogue Reproduction: Nice and clean and perfectly intelligible.
Extras
The Pope’s Exorcist features a couple of featurettes along with a digital code. My copy had a slipcover, but I know that the slipcover may not be available everywhere…:
- Introducing Father Amorth (HD, 6:28) is exactly what it advertises. The real Father Amorth is introduced and we learn more about the quirks that Russell Crowe inflected into his performance to better capture the real man.
- What Possessed You? (HD, 4:51) is actor, producer and director discussing demons and how to find new ways to tell stories like this one, among a few other small points.
- Trailers accompany the feature before the menu hits.
Summary
I knew going into The Pope’s Exorcist that I’d have some reservations based solely off the fact that there has yet to be a film about possession to be as engaging, creepy and devilishly entertaining as The Exorcist. Russell Crowe brings some levity to the film, and director Julius Avery does his best to elevate the material beyond the B-grade Netflix film it could’ve been. These things work to make the film recommendable to me, but, truthfully, don’t expect anything groundbreaking or fresh at the same time. This would be a great one to pick up on sale.
