Parents' Guide to

The Exorcism

By Jeffrey M. Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Meta demon-possession movie relies on clichés, jump scares.

Movie R 2024 95 minutes
The Exorcism Movie Poster: Anthony Miller (Russell Crowe) is dressed as a priest and holds a cross up at something

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

  • Anthony with ruffled hair and a cut on his cheek
    1:04
  • The Exorcism Movie: Anthony Miller (Russell Crowe) is dressed as a priest for a demon-possession movie
  • The Exorcism Movie: Lee (left) and Blake (right) visit Father Conor (center) with concerns about demons
  • The Exorcism Movie: Bathed in blue light, Anthony (center) protects Lee (left) and Blake (right) from an unseen threat

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age 18+

Based on 1 parent review

Katherine R.
Katherine R. Parent of 10, 14, 18+, 18+, 18+ and 5-year-old
July 5, 2024
age 18+

See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

In THE EXORCISM, Lee Miller (Ryan Simpkins) has been kicked out of school for an act of vandalism and heads home to stay with her estranged father, Anthony (Russell Crowe). Anthony is a once-successful movie actor who's recently gotten sober after a long dependency on alcohol and drugs and is ready to work again. He's up for the role of a priest in a demon possession movie, and he lands the role because the director (Adam Goldberg) thinks that Anthony's own abuse during his days as an altar boy will help inform his performance. But when shooting begins, Anthony starts acting strangely, and Lee and the filmmakers fear that he has gone back to using again. Could something far more sinister be happening?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

A good idea for a demon-possession movie with a decent cast eventually goes downhill, with themes underexplored and characters losing their focus in favor of routine horror pyrotechnics. In no way connected to Crowe's previous demon-possession movie, The Pope's Exorcist, The Exorcism begins with the production of a movie called The Georgetown Project that's hinted to be a remake of the original The Exorcist. It's fitting; The Exorcism director Joshua John Miller is the son of Jason Miller, who played Father Damien Karras in that classic. Joshua is also no stranger to movie sets, having grown up acting in movies like River's Edge and Near Dark and on TV shows like Family Ties and The Wonder Years. Plus, he and co-writer M.A. Fortin wrote the screenplay for the clever meta horror The Final Girls.

So everything was in place for a solid movie. But after a promising start—and despite a strong father-daughter relationship between Tony and Lee—The Exorcism falls apart. It feels like several pieces are just flat-out missing. The demon shows up for no reason, and characters who started developing into something are abruptly forgotten. Crowe goes through the usual demon-possession stuff that many viewers will likely have already seen, and his skills are wasted in what's eventually a pretty one-note role. The movie's horror is relegated mainly to jump scares, brought on because it's always dark and what little light there is keeps flickering out. (This seems odd, since a movie set usually requires quite a bit of light.) The Exorcism has a troubled history: It began shooting in 2019 and was delayed due to COVID and other factors. But even so, it feels as if it just gives up the ghost.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about The Exorcism's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?

  • Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of horror movies? Why do people sometimes enjoy being scared?

  • How is drug and alcohol dependency portrayed? Does the movie warn viewers against drug use, or is it made to look appealing in any way? What are the consequences? Are they realistic? Why does that matter?

  • What is a "meta movie"? How does The Exorcism use filmmaking and storytelling to comment on its own story?

  • What is the movie's father-daughter relationship like? How well do they communicate? How is it similar to or different from your own relationships?

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