Quartile rating: 5/10 · 1 rating
A troubled actor begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film, leading his estranged daughter to wonder if he's slipping back into his past addictions or if there's something more sinister at play.
The Exorcism (2024) offers a meta-horror premise—an actor filming an exorcism movie who may be genuinely possessed—that sounds intriguing on paper but fails to deliver on its potential. The plot is derivative, borrowing heavily from classic possession films without adding meaningful new layers despite its self-referential setup. Russell Crowe's performance elevates the material somewhat, giving a committed turn amid a script that doesn't fully support him. The cinematography is functional but unremarkable, relying on familiar horror visual grammar without distinctive style. The meta angle provides a modest degree of novelty but is squandered by formulaic execution. The ending fails to resolve the film's tension satisfyingly, leaving audiences with an underwhelming conclusion that neither fully commits to its psychological nor supernatural threads.