A horror movie in June is not the common trend when it comes to this genre. Yet, here we are again back in the theater to take a look at the latest silver screen showing. I had my doubts about this one and couldn’t quite wrap my head around the unique twist to the premise of a rather tested plot. Will this work? Can an impressive cast help spice things up and bring more to the spooky spectacle? Robbie K thanks you for your time as he reviews:
Movie: Exorcism (2024)
- Director
- Writers
LIKES:
The Special Effects
The Use of Shadows
Great Sound Effects
A Few Good Scare Tricks
The Acting Is Just Fine
There Is Some Character Redemption
Short Run Time
Summary:
The Exorcism is a movie that thrives on the loud and the dark for its primary gimmick. The sound is loud and verbose, perfect for the very few scary moments where the banging walls, breaking glass, and screams are amplified in the theater-worthy presentation. There are great uses of shadow and darkness to terrorize our characters, much of which is shot beautifully to capture the terror of the moment. It shakes things to the foundation and really gets the perfect shot to draw out the full emotional spectrum of the moment. Beautiful cinematography is the most impressive part of this movie for me and in the dim lighting has a spirit of its own to pursue. As for the nontechnical side of things, The Exorcism has a few glimmers that shine. It gets points for a twist on the genre, and the characters are okay and have some heft to a rather stereotypical cast of characters to play in this religious feature. These characters are brought to life by some decent acting that has to play some awkward roles. Worthington has his moments and deals with some good plays as an idolizing fan who is also a loyal friend. Simpkins plays the dutiful daughter well, bringing fire, fervor, some surprising layers, and representation to the movie without getting too lost in any one quality. Crowe’s role wasn’t as entertaining as when working for the Pope, but he continues his stint in the horror game, this time bringing some challenging problems to coincide with his character facing the horrors on set and at home. The characters have potential and fulfill various things that a variety can find some spark of interest in the movie. And if not, then take solace in the short runtime so you don’t waste too much time.
DISLIKES:
Not Scary
The Story Is Okay
Characters Need More Development
Waste of Sam Worthington
The Monster Is Lame At Times
Needed More Scares and Intensity
Movie Set Twist Was Irrational
Language With Minimal Need
The Direction Of The Movie
Summary:
Sadly, most of the reviews are correct in stating there are many limitations to this movie that take away from the expected thrills. The film is not scary for the most part, with only a few moments holding any merit for causing a jump or memorable scare tactic. A genuine story with some promise sort of falls flat, becoming very predictable, dry, mundane, and did not reach the heights they were trying to achieve. Characters needed more challenges, there needed to be more involvement in the mystery, and even more so a mystery to pursue. The monster’s purpose was simple and lacked any real bite or purpose until the very end with a lackluster flashback, and we had to try and push some story that could have come a lot easier. The whole twist of the movie set was lost and almost not needed given most of the stuff could have been done practically at any other location. I would have liked to see more integration into the movie, some twist, clue, or element that suggested why this movie set was the choice of acting. I’m sure there is an undertone that you can stretch, but the payoff was not worth the investment. The language used was more insulting than needed, the first few times worth the scene, but then becoming excessive filler that contributed little to the movie. Sam Worthington’s inclusion was minimal and a waste of his talent and character, and the scares were almost as bad, but at least had some moments that were creepy enough to get a leg up. My biggest thing is that the movie could not seem to pick a direction to take it as this might have helped with a lot of the problems. The Exorcism starts at the foot of a horror movie and then adds some drama to the mix to help get some depth. After that though, a mystery comes in to help, then turns to religious-centered plot lines that begin to overshadow the other elements. Because it keeps passing the tone and focus, the jumbled direction continues to interrupt and hurt the quality of the movie. Picking one or two elements and building that plot would have helped take this to the full level and accomplish the mission of scares and a deeper story.
The VERDICT:
The Exorcism has elements that are beautiful, and effective, and show promising direction in terms of helping get a story out with the best emotional punch it can yield. The acting is fine and the twist was engaging, but it just didn’t quite come to fruition, and will be very difficult to recommend a visit. Mostly due to the spread direction that it takes, the movie fails to gain momentum to be all it can be and tries to shift too extreme at times and in directions that feel very forced and shallow instead of having meaning. I needed a scary antagonist with a purpose, characters that uncover mysteries or things about themselves and not in very cut-and-dry explanations, and suspense for investing my time. Sadly, all of this failed and we were left with a modicum of a movie that should have and could have been better. The plus side outside of the production value is that it’s a short run time, but for me, this movie is best left for streaming at home. My scores are:
Horror/Thriller: 5.5
Movie Overall: 5.0
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