THE POPE’S EXORCIST
A gripping exorcism thriller with a real Christian spine — for grown-ups.
Should You Watch It?
Here's the decision plainly. This is a Hollywood exorcism movie with all the shenanigans that promises — and yet it carries a surprisingly strong Christian worldview, plus a genuinely terrific performance by Russell Crowe as the Vatican's chief exorcist. The film leans hard on the Holy Trinity, Jesus, the Armor of God, prayer, faith, confession, absolution, forgiveness, and compassion. In the end, faith conquers demonic evil — but not without an intense struggle.
It also earns its R rating. The violence is graphic and scary. The demon spits roughly 22 obscenities and lurid, sexual insults at the priests and the family. There's brief nudity in two scenes. And by design, the movie makes Satan and his demons look more powerful than they truly are.
So: if you're an adult who can watch hard horror without harm to your conscience, this one has real merit and a real message. If you're choosing for children or young teens, choose something else — it was never for them.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESIt's 1987. Father Gabriele Amorth, the wise apprentice to the Vatican's chief exorcist, has already proven himself a shrewd and capable defender of the faith against Satan's minions.
Then the Pope sends him to Spain. A recently widowed American woman, Julia, has inherited a large Spanish abbey with an awful past, and moved in with her teenage daughter and her young son, Henry. Now Henry is acting terribly strange — scratching his own face, demanding the priest in a voice not his own. Amorth quickly determines the boy is truly possessed. What he doesn't yet know is what this demon really wants, and how far its reach extends.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars, and here's what they mean. The film's clear anchor is Russell Crowe, whose Father Amorth arrives with a twinkle in his eye and a heart for God — a portrayal the source calls terrific, and it carries the picture.
Around that performance, this is a full-blooded horror movie, and it never pretends otherwise. There are creepy sounds and dark corners, a demon that flings bodies into walls, and plenty of sensationalized shenanigans. The source is candid that the film exaggerates the power of Satan and his demons for effect. Judge it as what it is: a well-mounted, effective supernatural thriller that entertains and unsettles, elevated well above its genre by its lead and its convictions.
The Worldview
For a Hollywood exorcism picture, this one believes something. The source calls its Christian worldview very strong: rich references to the Holy Trinity, to Jesus, to the Armor of God, and to prayer, faith, confession, absolution, repentance, forgiveness, and compassion. It even compares a mother's love to the love of God. This is not a film that treats faith as set dressing.
More than that, it names a real spiritual truth: that the Devil is always trying to creep into the Church, to defame its name and the name of its Head — Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and delivers us from evil. And it lets faith win. The demon is powerful, stubborn and knowledgeable, but the struggle ends with faith conquering evil.
The one caution to weigh is theological, not incidental. In dramatizing the boy's possession, the movie makes Satan and his demons look more powerful than they actually are — good spectacle, but a distortion a discerning viewer should hold at arm's length. Scripture puts the demonic in its place: the enemy is real, but already defeated. "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Very strong Christian worldview, with some biblical, moral elements, about a real life Roman Catholic priest who’s the chief exorcist for the Vatican, with very strong references to the Holy Trinity, Jesus, the Armor of God, prayer, faith, confession, absolution, repentance, forgiveness, and compassion, plus a mother’s love is compared to the love of God, but the movie’s main story about a young boy who’s possessed by a powerful demon is a fictionalized, sensationalized story that depicts Satan and his demons as more powerful than they really are
Foul Language
About 22 obscenities (including about 15 “f” words), six light profanities, an obscene gesture, a possessed character spits up a dead red bird, and a character vomits blood in one scene
Violence
Some very strong, graphic, scary violence includes a scene where a crucifix is placed on the forehead of a woman conjured up by a demon, and the body explodes, a woman is covered in blood, demon writes words on a possessed boy’s stomach, demon possesses the body of a priest at one point, the priest tries to hang himself to prevent the demon from controlling him to infiltrate the Vatican, demon flings people’s bodies into walls and other physical objects several times, scary images of skulls and skeletons, a demon possessed character tries to strangle another character, priest reaches for a key in a decomposing skeleton’s stomach, a fiery explosion sends a worker to the hospital in an ambulance, a flashback shows a troubled young woman flinging herself off a church parapet, soldiers are shot in a World War II flashback, a dead body in a car accident flashback appears to have been impaled by some object, an animal is shot off screen and its blood splashes on a side character, etc.
Sex
Some crude sexual references and strong sexual language by the evil demon in the movie who taunts the Vatican priest, a local priest, and the possessed boy’s mother and teenage sister, plus a priest mentions a past affair and another priest fails to help a female victim of a third priest
Nudity
Upper female nudity in two scenes (in the second scene there’s a demonic vision of a totally nude dead woman shot from behind and the side who’s covered in blood)
Alcohol Use
Brief whiskey drinking in two scenes
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
Teenage girl smokes in one scene, but her mother orders her to put out the cigarette, and there’s a scene where a possessed boy is given an injection to knock him out;
Miscellaneous Immorality
Teenage girl is rebellious and disrespectful to her mother.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
The movie leans on the "Armor of God" as the priest's real defense. What does that armor actually consist of, and how do we put it on in ordinary life?
Ephesians 6:10–18This story shows the Devil always trying to creep into the Church to defame the name of Christ. How should believers stay watchful without becoming fearful?
1 Peter 5:8–9 · 2 Corinthians 2:11The film compares a mother's love to the love of God. Where does that comparison ring true — and where does God's love go further than any human love can?
Isaiah 49:15 · Romans 8:38–39Movies often make demonic power look overwhelming. What does Scripture actually say about the outcome of the battle between Christ and the enemy?
Colossians 2:15 · James 4:7The Final Word
Here's a rarity: a Hollywood horror film that takes faith seriously, gives Russell Crowe room to shine, and lets faith win the fight. It's also graphic, profane, and built to make evil look bigger than it is. So our answer stands, the same one we opened with: worth the trip — adults only. Planning family movie night instead? Start with our latest family-friendly picks.
