Directed by Mikael Hafstrom. Written by Michael Petroni, based on a book by Matt Baglio. Starring Colin O’Donoghue, Anthony Hopkins, Alice Braga, Ciaran Hinds, Toby Jones, Rutger Hauer, Chris Marquette and Marta Gastini.
Plot: a seminary student travels to Italy to take a course in exorcism.
In Michael’s (O’Donoghue) family, you either become a priest or a mortician and he doesn’t want to be a mortician. So, he goes to seminary school even though he doesn’t really want to be a priest either. He just wants to get out of his father’s (Hauer) house. Later, when he’s had enough of the seminary and tries to leave, Father Matthew (Jones) suggests he takes a course on exorcism before deciding to leave. They apparently want more exorcists within the church and are having problems finding them.
So, Michael takes the course with Father Xavier (Hinds) who finds him so much of a challenge that he sends him to the much less orthodox Father Lucas (Hopkins) to learn from him. Along the way he meets a journalist (Braga) and they both end up embroiled in an exorcism they didn’t see coming.
While the effects are on point in this movie, the story isn’t. It was ridiculous and unoriginal. And although DJ and I are atheistic and agnostic respectively, it has nothing to do with that. I mean, we both loved The Exorcist. It was just a far superior film. At least Anthony Hopkins was good as always, but that isn’t enough to recommend it.
Our score: 31.
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