The Pope's Exorcist
Screen Gems | Release Date: April 14, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
45
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
11
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
PolygonAusten GoslinApr 21, 2023
The Pope’s Exorcist doesn’t match the bone-deep terror or filmmaking heights of the original Exorcist, but sets itself apart by building the whole movie on an understanding that its whole premise is a little silly — and it’s never afraid to lean into that fact. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMatthew MonagleApr 14, 2023
In a world of blockbuster franchises and micro-budget horror – where movies above a certain budget seem to justify their own expense by adopting a detached irony – The Pope’s Exorcist is the kind of goofball sincerity so many of us hunger for. It’s not going to work for everyone, but if you are the kind of viewer who ends up on its wavelength – by god, what a ride. Read full review
70
Rolling StoneChris VognarApr 17, 2023
The Pope’s Exorcist will certainly never go down as a classic of the genre, but it’s better than it has any reason to be. Sometimes, the devil you know gets the job done just fine. Read full review
70
The New York TimesElisabeth VincentelliApr 14, 2023
Avery (“Samaritan”) drives the film at a pace as caffeinated as Amorth himself, and manages to incorporate legitimate scares into a plot halfway between Indiana Jones and a Dan Brown potboiler, with camp touches worthy of Ken Russell. Read full review
60
IGNMatt DonatoApr 18, 2023
You can find horror movies a lot better than The Pope’s Exorcist, but in an increasingly stale exorcism subgenre, you can absolutely do worse as well – and Russel Crowe’s Italian accent is unintentionally hilarious. Read full review
60
The TelegraphTim RobeyApr 11, 2023
The whole thing remains ridiculous, partly since Avery can’t persuade us we’ve been watching a possessed boy so much as an overtaxed child actor he’s putting through boot camp. This was William Friedkin’s – and Blair’s – quite particular achievement. Think of Avery’s go as a goofy cover version you can indulge just the once. Read full review
60
EmpireCatherine BrayApr 11, 2023
It’s not just the demonic possession victims whose eyes will be rolling back in their skulls – none of this should work, really, and yet the film just about gets away with it, proving the Lord truly does move in mysterious ways. Read full review
50
SlashfilmChris EvangelistaApr 21, 2023
The Pope's Exorcist is by no means a good movie, but there's a modicum of fun to be had from watching Crowe do his thing. And if you have a problem with him, you can take it up with his boss — the Pope! Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubLuke Y. ThompsonApr 14, 2023
It’s impossible to take any of this remotely seriously, or find it particularly frightening. But it is its own sort of fun, at least for a while. Read full review
50
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiApr 14, 2023
Crowe — knowingly, I think — clowns around from start to finish. Even if the horror doesn’t have you screaming, his Italian accent will. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzApr 14, 2023
Unfortunately, The Pope’s Exorcist is a watchable but far-from-special rehash of exorcism movie cliches, with detours into a Vatican conspiracy plot that has been compared to Dan Brown's novels but half-assedly connects with church atrocities and scandals. Read full review
50
VarietyGuy LodgeApr 11, 2023
The Pope’s Exorcist still exerts a lurid B-movie pull, in part because Australian genre stylist Avery demonstrates some command of fire-and-brimstone theatrics, but mostly thanks to Russell Crowe: As the film’s version of Father Amorth by way of Damien Karras, the slumming Oscar champ props up proceedings with just the right balance of gruff, paternalistic credibility and wry, self-mocking irony. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriApr 17, 2023
It allows Crowe to have fun with the part of Father Amorth, but the film forgets to have fun along with him. Read full review
40
The GuardianMike McCahillApr 11, 2023
Racing towards its splattery finale, it just about qualifies as lively schlock, and is likely your one chance to see Crowe in flowing robes piloting a Vespa to the strains of Faith No More. Read full review
40
Little White LiesHannah StrongApr 11, 2023
Crowe is pleasingly game, affecting a questionable Italian accent and bearing a striking resemblance to Orson Welles as he cuts about on his scooter, and Amorth – who was the subject of a 2017 documentary by William Friedkin – is undoubtedly a fascinating character worthy of a schlocky B-movie outing. But the stilted script takes a long time to deliver on its scintillating premise, and Avery can’t seem to strike a balance between the absurd and the disturbing, with the elaborate climax coming too late to really have an impact. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreApr 14, 2023
Crowe seems to impose his own sense of fun on the proceedings, which gives it a light touch even when it should have fear-for-the-victims’ lives gravitas. Read full review
30
Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganApr 11, 2023
Stitched together from better pictures - all of which viewers would be better advised to check out - The Pope’s Exorcist’s one saving grace is Crowe who still, despite the hound of hell that is this film, is a significant screen presence who commits to some dialogue that only Satan himself could have dreamed up. Read full review
25
ObserverOliver JonesApr 17, 2023
As a self-serious horror drama that fictionalizes the real-life exploits of the late author and Catholic priest Father Gabriele Amorth into an absurdly plotted, blood-drenched haunted house movie, The Pope’s Exorcist arrives in theaters Friday the 14 with all the vitality and vivaciousness of a 15th century corpse. Read full review
0
ColliderEmma KielyApr 13, 2023
The film tries to pack in so much subplot and religious context that it leaves no time to build up a scare properly. The only people who would actually be scared by this movie are about five years too young to legally see it. Read full review
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