The Exorcism (film)

2024 film by Joshua John Miller

Not to be confused with The Exorcist.

The Exorcism

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Joshua John Miller
Written by|

* M.A. Fortin
* Joshua John Miller

Produced by|

* Kevin Williamson
* Ben Fast
* Bill Block

Starring|

* Russell Crowe
* Ryan Simpkins
* Sam Worthington
* Chloe Bailey
* Adam Goldberg
* Adrian Pasdar
* David Hyde Pierce

Cinematography| Simon Duggan
Edited by| Matthew Woolley
Music by|

* Danny Bensi
* Saunder Jurriaans

Production
companies

* Miramax
* Outerbanks Entertainment

Distributed by| Vertical

Release date

* June 21, 2024 (2024-06-21)

Running time

| 95 minutes[1]
Country| United States
Language| English
Box office| $2.5 million[2]

The Exorcism is a 2024 American supernatural horror film starring Russell Crowe as Anthony Miller, an actor whose deteriorating mental state on a horror movie set causes his daughter Lee (Ryan Simpkins) to suspect either his former addictions or a more sinister cause. It is directed by Joshua John Miller, from a script he co-wrote with M. A. Fortin. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg, Adrian Pasdar, and David Hyde Pierce.

Vertical released The Exorcism in theaters in the United States on June 21, 2024.

## Plot[edit]

An actor is inspecting the set of his exorcism movie, The Georgetown Project (resembling The Exorcist), alone; strange things happen, and he is killed. The director taps aging, alcoholic actor Anthony Miller to star as the priest in the film. His blonde hipster daughter Lee, suspended from high school, is his personal assistant on the film; she and her father are wounded by her mother's death. Lee mentions she sent him a play she wrote; but he ignored it.

Miller's background as a molestation victim when he was an altar boy comes out, and he has difficulty on the film set and off, often having flashbacks to his molestation. The director discusses replacing him, and derides Miller's troubled past and lost faith. Lee becomes increasingly concerned about her father's bizarre behavior, including cutting himself, sleepwalking, and refusing to take his medication.

Lee makes friends with Blake, a popular singer who plays the possessed girl in the film; their friendship becomes a romance. Meanwhile, Lee and Blake consult Father Conor, a Catholic priest and psychiatrist who is a consultant for the film, about Miller's frightening behavior.

Miller on-set acts if possessed, contorting his body and slamming his head into a table. He is replaced by Joe, who was playing another priest. When alone on the set, Joe sees a phantom of Miller and is killed by flying glass from a mirror. At home, Miller attacks Lee, then jumps out a window.

Father Conor decides to perform an exorcism on the movie set. Lee finds him and Blake paralyzed in front of the now-possessed Miller, who derides Lee's attempts to use a prayer book to exorcise him. She burns him with a crucifix, which snaps Conor and Blake out of paralysis. Conor offers himself to the demon and tells the girls to run. After Conor is possessed, Miller is roused to stab him with the crucifix, and to use the prayer book's exorcism rite sincerely as Lee also joins in; Conor catches on fire and the demon is defeated.

Later on, in another location, Miller reminisces how things have improved between him and his daughter; she, now with longer, black hair and sunglasses, is working on a script.

## Cast[edit]

* Russell Crowe as Anthony Miller
* Sam Worthington as Joe
* Ryan Simpkins as Lee Miller
* Chloe Bailey as Blake Holloway
* David Hyde Pierce as Father Conor
* Marcenae Lynette as Monica
* Tracey Bonner as Regina
* Samantha Mathis as Jennifer Simon
* Adrian Pasdar as Tom
* Adam Goldberg as Peter

## Production[edit]

In October 2019, it was announced Russell Crowe had joined the cast of the film, then titled The Georgetown Project, with M. A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller directing from a screenplay they wrote. Miramax was to produce the film.[3] In November 2019, Ryan Simpkins, Chloe Bailey, Sam Worthington, David Hyde Pierce, Tracey Bonner, Samantha Mathis, Adrian Pasdar and Adam Goldberg joined the cast of the film.[4][5]

Principal photography began in Wilmington, North Carolina in November 2019[6] and wrapped in December.[7] Additional filming was delayed due to COVID-19 and did not take place until 2023 in New York City, Los Angeles and Australia. Post-production did not finish until January 2024.[8] By April 2024, the film had been retitled The Exorcism.[9]

## Release[edit]

In April 2024, Vertical acquired North American distribution rights to the film, scheduling it for a theatrical release in the United States on June 21, 2024. Shudder also acquired pay-one rights to the film.[9]

## Reception[edit]

### Box office[edit]

In the United States and Canada, The Exorcism was released alongside The Bikeriders and Thelma, and was projected to gross $1–2 million from 2,240 theaters in its opening weekend. It ended up debuting to $2.2 million, finishing in seventh.[10]

### Critical response[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 31% of 70 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "The power of Crowe compels up to a point in this metatextual riff on the possession genre, but The Exorcism's greatest sin is ultimately falling back on clichés."[11] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 47 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[12] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "D" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it a 38% positive score.[10]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "The Exorcism (15)". BBFC. June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
2. ^ "The Exorcism – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
3. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 10, 2019). "Russell Crowe To Star In Miramax Horror Thriller Pic". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
4. ^ Day-Ramos, Dino (November 6, 2019). "Russell Crowe's 'The Georgetown Project' Adds Ryan Simpkins And Chloe Bailey". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 14, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
5. ^ Ritman, Alex (November 18, 2019). "Sam Worthington, David Hyde Pierce Join Russell Crowe in 'The Georgetown Project' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
6. ^ "New movie starring Russell Crowe shooting in downtown Wilmington". Wect.com. November 5, 2019. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
7. ^ Ingram, Hunter (December 18, 2019). "Russell Crowe, 'Georgetown Project' say goodbye to Wilmington". Star-News. Wilmington, North Carolina. Archived from the original on June 22, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
8. ^ Staton, John (June 13, 2024). "Thalian Hall sells out for premiere of Wilmington-shot film, with a celebrity guest or two". Star-News. Wilmington, North Carolina. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
9. ^ a b Grobar, Matt (April 22, 2024). "Vertical Acquires Miramax Horror Pic 'The Exorcism' Starring Russell Crowe". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
10. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 22, 2024). "Box Office Ecstatic: Inside Out 2 Notching Historic Second Weekend For Animated Pic With $98M+ – Saturday AM Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
11. ^ "The Exorcism". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
12. ^ "The Exorcism". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved June 21, 2024.

## External links[edit]

* The Exorcism at IMDb

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