(ESP-ENG) The Pope's Exorcist - A very rockstar priest.

Hello friends, good vibes to all.

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Within horror there are several subgenres, there can be the slasher, everything gore, science fiction taken to horror, a good thriller, the famous psychological horror and everything that surrounds the paranormal. But within the latter there are two more branches, ghosts and specters and demonic possessions and this is precisely where we land. I'm a fan of horror, quite a lot, but there is an undeniable truth and it is that it is a very complicated genre to please since generally good movies that cover everything I said above are counted on the fingers of one's hands, being the exorcism ones perhaps and at least for me, the ones that suddenly can save the papers a little bit. Films like The Rite, The Exorcism of Emily Rose or the world famous The Exorcist of 1973 with Linda Blair are perhaps the ones I've seen that may have done a fairly good job.

This film today I will not deny that it had me hesitant because you never know, we are in a difficult terrain where something can be very good or tremendously bad, the thing is that I feel that this film is in a kind of limbo between both extremes, it is not the best film you are going to find but it is one that can be seen without problems. Another factor to consider is that if you as a viewer are a believer in this kind of thing, if the answer is yes you might find it a little more interesting since there is an intriguing context and background, if the answer is negative then all this will surely seem a bit poor science fiction. But well without further ado let's go and talk a little about what is this last bet on demonic terror.

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It must be said that this story is based on a real character, Father Gabriele Amorth (Russell Crowe), this priest was one of the exorcists with whom the Vatican counted and who in life made more than one hundred thousand exorcisms since he died in 2016. This film tells the story of this priest taking care of a somewhat particular possession and that is that in Spain, in an ancient abbey, a child apparently fell prisoner by one of the most powerful demons, one of the kings of hell. As always, incredulity is something that reigns in these cases and no one expects that this is the reason for the behavior that young Henry is experiencing lately.

But not everything ends here and once Father Gabriele arrives at the place he begins to realize something that does not quite fit and is that allegedly that site already had some history with the Vatican, that is, it is not the first time that abbey generated problems. So, as time goes by, the pieces begin to fit together and lead to the conclusion that all that corresponds to a great conspiracy which the Vatican itself has been desperately covering up throughout history and today intends to keep it that way. As you can see, besides the touch of horror, there is also a bit of science fiction, or not, with respect to the whole conspiracy behind it; this is undoubtedly an important added value to the plot.

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Let's start by parts. First the story. All these plots that involve hidden things through clues that finally lead to the final answer, no matter how trite and cliché they are, they are still entertaining. And yes, as I said, I want to think that it is pure science fiction what they propose, although with the Vatican you never know, the secrets they keep are bigger than what you know about them. I think it's because I like history and general culture but honestly I got hooked to all the background of what happened in that abbey, because it's not just the demon that possessed the boy out of nowhere, there is a reason behind everything and that caught my attention, at least they made the story have a little more depth and that is appreciated.

Second, the visual effects. For these films to be a little more credible they have to be accompanied by good special effects and especially visual ones, and this movie was decent, not extraordinary but passable. Everything that has to do with makeup or CGI itself is something that is appreciated as the story progresses, it has its things that can be improved, especially towards the end of the film, but overall I have no complaints. There was something that struck me at the time and it was the face of the child once the possession was more developed, it is those details that in the end generate a little more impression at the time of seeing the screen.

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So, for a horror film, it's scary, scary? - I'm not a person who scares easily, in my case the surprise factor or the unpredictability of an action is what can generate that "jump scare" at the moment of watching something, so in this film I feel that does not exist. I was not scared at any time, there was no reason because there is something I always do and that is to anticipate everything that is going to happen so I'm almost always prepared for whatever comes out. I am not saying that someone else will not be scared, it is known that some people are sensitive to these things and it may affect them but in my case it was not like that. Yes, there are elements that can make an impression, but I repeat, it all depends on the person.

As for the characters, we have to talk about Russell Crowe. Here he is a very rockstar priest, who says bad words, who has a bottle of whiskey in his cassock, wears sunglasses and rides a Vespa everywhere. He is the typical character who is not afraid of anyone or anything because life has made him that way, he really did a pretty good role for me, Russell Crowe is a very versatile actor and that's a plus. We must mention the boy, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, who honestly excelled because playing a role like this is always complex, it requires an extra effort that I think not everyone could.

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Having said all that I give this film a 7/10 only because the ending, or the final scenes did not captivate me much to say, they were not bad but this is a very personal matter of taste. A movie that is perfectly watchable, not boring, has an interesting context, decent effects and a Russell Crowe who plays a very 21st century priest falling a bit in the bully. It lasts a little over an hour and a half. Here's the trailer so you can take a look at it.

Well my people that's all for today, I hope you liked it.
¡A hug to everyone, see you next time!