The Pope's Exorcist Doesn't Look Like Your Typical Exorcism Movie

Is this a Lord of the Rings movie?

In life, we can count on a few things. Death. Taxes. And Hollywood making innumerable, nearly indistinguishable exorcism movies. Every year it seems we get two or three of them and even when they’re good it’s hard to get excited because they always look the same. So it would make sense to see a title like “The Pope’s Exorcist” and roll your eyes. Yup, another movie about a priest battling a child possessed by a demon. However, after watching the trailer, this movie at least seems as if it’s trying to be different, and we’re intrigued.

Directed by Julius Avery (Overlord) and based on the “actual files of Fr. Gabriele Amorth, chief exorcist of the Vatican,” The Pope’s Exorcist stars Russell Crowe as Father Amorth. A priest who, as you’ll see, sometimes feels like these possessions are best handled outside of the home. Check out the trailer.

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THE POPE’S EXORCIST – Official Trailer (HD)

That’s a pretty good trailer, and the reason why it feels it’s at least trying to stand apart from every other exorcism movie isn’t the apparent reality of the stories, but the plot around that. The movie almost looks like it’s got an Indiana Jones/Da Vinci Code-type mystery at the center with Crowe’s character attempting to solve the puzzle of this particular possession. We don’t even really see much actual “exorcism” here. It’s more about handling and figuring out the origins of this bad situation. Is that the reality of the movie or are we being duped? You can never tell, but the effort is there.

Plus, the trailer certainly makes it look like Crowe himself is going to get possessed and maybe take some kind of evil throne? Which, real or dream, is a fun little twist. All of which is to say, The Pope’s Exorcist trailer did its job. It got us interested. What do you think?

The Pope’s Exorcist opens in theaters April 14. Here’s the cool poster.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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