The Exorcism is a 2024 supernatural horror film that promises to deliver a unique approach to demonic possession. Russell Crowe stars in the film as a troubled actor who takes a job playing a priest in an exorcism movie. While on set, strange occurrences take Crowe's struggles from human vices to a power he can't hope to control.

Russell Crowe starred in another demonic possession-themed film in 2023 called The Pope's Exorcist, so this isn't Crowe's first venture into the popular horror subgenre. With such a talented powerhouse taking center stage and a promising premise, The Exorcism had all the tools to make something incredible. Sadly, despite Crowe's stellar performance, the film fumbled the ball and forgot the premise that would make it a standout halfway through its runtime.

The Exorcism's Plot, Explained

• The Exorcism was released on June 21, 2024, and it is in theaters now
• Joshua John Miller directed the film and co-wrote it with M. A. Fortin

The Exorcism takes inspiration from many real-life horror films that allegedly had "cursed sets." Some of the most influential horror movies ever made, like The Exorcist (1973), The Omen (1976), and Poltergeist (1982), were the target of misfortune during and/or after the filming took place. The Exorcism is, in its rawest form, about the alleged curses that haunt horror movies. It treats the curse as if it's real and makes it the main premise of the film.

The Exorcism opens with an actor exploring a sound stage with a multistory house built inside. He reads lines from a script as he walks through the set alone, clearly rehearsing his part as a priest prepping for an exorcism. While on set, a mysterious force manifests and kills him. The rest of the film follows a struggling actor, Anthony Miller, and his daughter, Lee. After the original actor's death, Anthony Miller auditioned for the role. Anthony is a well-known actor, but when his wife passed away from cancer, he drowned his sorrows with alcohol and drugs. This destroyed his career, health, and relationship with his daughter, Lee.

Anthony's first step back into the spotlight after rehab is the role of the priest. Unfortunately, Anthony also has some trauma wrapped up in the Catholic Church. The movie hints at Anthony being abused by a priest as a child, so he not only struggles with the role, but he also struggles with being around Father Conor, a priest brought on set to oversee an accurate portrayal of the Church and exorcisms in general. Anthony's struggles leave him vulnerable to a demonic influence.

The longer Anthony works in the movie, the more his health declines. Lee, who works as a PA on set, helplessly watches Anthony deteriorate in front of her. Her relationship with Anthony is rocky, so much so that she calls him "Tony" instead of "Dad." Despite that, she loves him and worries about his increasingly odd behavior.

Real-Life Horror Movie Productions The Film Takes Inspiration From

As mentioned, The Exorcism pays homage to the many, many horror movie sets that have been said to be cursed or haunted. To be clear, The Exorcism is a fictional film, but it takes inspiration from the stigma of cursed horror films. There are an alarming number of productions that have been plagued with misfortunes or inexplicable happenings over the years, including (but not limited to):

• Rosemary's Baby (1968)
• The Exorcist (1973)
• The Omen (1976)
• Poltergeist (1982)
• The House of the Devil (2009)
• The Innkeepers (2011) - The House of the Devil's filming location inspired director Ti West to create The Innkeepers.
• The Possession (2012)
• The Conjuring (2013) - The Conjuring isn't the only movie set in The Conjuring Universe to see strange or paranormal activity on set. Annabelle (2014), Annabelle Comes Home (2019), and The Nun (2018) were a few of The Conjuring Universe films that had strange accidents and even hauntings on set.

Poltergeist Is One Of The Most Infamously Cursed Movies

Poltergeist is considered by many to be one of the best horror films ever made and kick-started one of the best horror trilogies. It is also considered to be one of the most cursed horror movie series ever made, mostly because of the numerous cast member deaths. Four different cast members died during the Poltergeist trilogy filming or shortly after.

Heather O’Rourke, the young star who played Carol Anne Freeling, suffered a cardiac arrest on set and died hours later during surgery. Dominique Dunne, the original Dana Freeling, was choked to death by her ex. Julian Beck (Kane) and Will Sampson (Taylor) also passed away but for more than expected reasons. Beck had stomach cancer and Sampson passed away during a heart-lung transplant.

While the four deaths fueled the conspiracy, there were a few other incidents that fueled the "cursed" allegations. JoBeth Williams (Diane Freeling) claimed that real skeletons were used on set because they were cheaper than prop skeletons. This has never been confirmed, but it is a well-known rumor that many horror fans know and even mistake as fact. Will Sampson also exorcised the set, leading many to question why such a thing would be necessary.

The Omen's Behind The Scenes Are Hard To Believe

The Omen has some of the strangest happenings of any "cursed" horror movie. In 1975, Gregory Peck's (who played Robert Thorn) plane was struck by lightning. Mace Neufeld (an executive producer of the film) experienced the same thing a few weeks later on a flight to Los Angeles. The film's writer, David Seltzer's plane, was struck by lightning too. If three planes weren't enough, Harvey Bernhard (producer of The Omen) was almost struck by lightning while in Rome.

There was another horrific plane-related accident involved with The Omen's filming. Due to a delay in production, Peck wasn't needed on set. The private jet that he was supposed to take to get to the set was given to someone else. The plane flew into a flock of birds and crashed. The crash struck a car, killing everyone on the plane and in the car. What's more unsettling, though, is that the pilot's family was in the car.

The Omen's production also included a few close calls with IRA bombings in London, animal accidents on set, and a gruesome death. Liz Moore was special effects designer John Richardson's assistant. The pair were caught in a horrible car accident where Richardson walked away with minor injuries, but Moore was decapitated. Moore's death was horrific, but it also mimicked an iconic scene in the film when Keith Jennings is decapitated by a sheet of falling glass. Many believe that The Omen's Curse is still going strong because the 2006 remake and The First Omen (2024) also fell prey to strange happenings and accidents.

The Exorcist Was A Hub For Negative Energy, Too

If there is one "cursed" horror movie that stands above the rest, it might just be The Exorcist. The Exorcist is the first of its kind. By today's standards, demonic possession movies are common. So much so that at least one or two come out every year. In 1973, when The Exorcist was released, there hadn't been a movie like it before. This caused many people to believe too heavily in what they were watching, as it dealt with the idea of demons, possession, and sin that challenged many beliefs of devoted Catholics. This led many moviegoers to hound Linda Blair, the girl who played Regan, for answers about religion that she did not have.

The lasting impact The Exorcist had on Linda Blair is only a small fraction of the strange activity that revolved around the movie. Before the movie even began filming, almost the entire set burned down. This mysterious fire forced a serious delay in the filming schedule. Linda Blair and the woman who played her mother, Ellen Burstyn, both suffered severe back injuries on set, ones that would stay with them for the rest of their lives. Several accidents on set resulted in various degrees of injuries for the other cast and crew.

Death also plagued The Exorcist's cast and crew. If it wasn't the life of someone working on the movie themselves, it was the life of a close relative. Jack MacGowran (Burke Dennings), Vasiliki Maliaros (Father Karras’ mother), and Max von Sydow were only a few of the film's real-life victims. The Exorcist was also the home to a murderer and suspected serial killer, Paul Bateson. In 1979, he was convicted of killing film industry journalist Addison Verrill, but the police suspected he was responsible for several more murders known as the "bag murders."

How The Exorcism Wastes Such A Unique Plot

• Ryan Simpkins plays Lee Miller
• Chloe Bailey plays Blake Holloway
• David Hyde Pierce plays Father Conor

Since The Exorcism seeks to tell the story of a cursed movie set, moviegoers expected the film to mostly take place during the filming of a horror movie. To be fair, The Exorcism does cover some key moments, like Anthony Miller auditioning for the part and a few moments of him flubbing the filming, but a lot of the unnerving moments happen off-set. Most of the scenes where Anthony is possessed and influenced by a demon happen in his home, when he's alone or with his daughter.

Unfortunately, the movie doesn't do a lot to establish why the movie set is cursed. It also doesn't hammer in how unfortunate the set is. The opening scene shows an actor dying while alone on set. There's one other scene of a stage light falling and narrowly missing the director. Aside from these moments, there's not much activity that supports the set being "haunted" or "cursed." The narrative doesn't even really establish why the demon decides to go after Anthony as his vessel. Horror fans can form theories about why he's vulnerable to the demon, but the movie never offers any solidified answers.

If The Exorcism leaned into the cursed set schtick, it would have been a much stronger film. Moviegoers went in wanting to see lights falling from the ceiling, inexplicable set fires, random injuries during filming, mysterious deaths, and strange occurrences happening off-set. Many "cursed" movies also have reports of ghost activity, like ghost sightings, objects moving on their own, and so on. The Exorcism didn't deliver on many of these expectations. Instead, it focused on a horrible director being rude and a possession that mostly happened off-set.

The Exorcism's Premise Is Excellent

Despite the movie's follies, The Exorcism does deserve credit for trying to breathe new life into a horror trope that has been done to death. Many real-life horror movie sets have endured some of the worst filming conditions, freak accidents, and mysteries.

Regardless of whether these "cursed" sets are the result of something supernatural, a film focusing on the curse that seems to plague such movies is brilliant, meta, and full of opportunities to tell a unique story. The Exorcism might not have accomplished what the filmmakers set out to do, but the bones are solid. It's just a shame that it wasted so much potential.