A troubled actor exhibits increasingly erratic behavior while shooting a horror film. His estranged daughter wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. A film by Joshua John Miller, starring Russell Crowe, Ryan Simpkins, Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg, Adrian Pasdar, and David Hyde Pierce.

Tom (Adrian Pasdar), an actor rehearsing his lines from the script of The Georgetown Project; in which he takes the lead role as Father Arlington. He steps out of his car and enters a house, venturing upstairs to the bedroom on the third floor where the climatic scene is supposed to happen. The camera pans out, and we can see that the house is in fact a giant setpiece built for filming in the soundstage, and that Tom is running lines alone by himself. Suddenly, the fuse box sparks, the door slams shut by itself, and the entire soundstage goes dark. Tom is mysteriously killed by an invisible entity.

Lee Miller (Ryan Simpkins) returns to her estranged father Anthony’s apartment in New York after being expelled from St. Agatha Catholic School. Upon arrival, Lee overhears Anthony (Russell Crowe) running lines from a movie script that he prepares for a role. We can hear that it is the same script that Tom rehearsed before his mysterious demise. Anthony, a washed-up actor with an alcoholic addiction, assures Lee that St. Agatha has changed their decision, so Lee is just suspended for now.

Anthony confides in Lee that the new film is a pretty big deal for him. Seeing Anthony’s struggle to memorize his lines, Lee offers to help. Anthony initially refuses, blaming his new medication. Nevertheless, Lee quickly snatches the script and begins reading lines with him.

During his audition, Anthony struggles with his lines, frustration mounting as he’s unable to memorize the script. However, Peter (Adam Goldberg), the director, seems more interested in Anthony’s past as an altar boy and his genuine responses. Impressed by Anthony’s determination, Peter casts him for the lead role in his film.

At the party at Anthony’s apartment, Peter introduces Anthony to Father George Conor (David Hyde Pierce), a priest hired as a consultant on arcane and Catholic matters. Meanwhile, Anthony’s colleague Joe (Sam Worthington) mentions how his role in the film “Double Shift to Dirty Double” inspired him to pursue acting. Lee befriends Blake Holloway (Chloe Bailey), a popular idol cast in the role of a possessed girl, who slipped into Lee’s bedroom to make a private phone call.

On the first day of the shoot, Anthony experiences a flashback from his traumatic past as an Altar boy. Despite the film deliberately cutting the flashback into multiple pieces in an attempt to conceal what really happened with young Anthony, we can assume that he was sexually abused. Cut to the present, Anthony’s nose starts to bleed for no apparent reason. That night, Lee witnesses Anthony sleepwalking and staring blankly at the front door. As Lee approaches, Anthony abruptly snaps out of his state and becomes extremely frightened.

Strange and unexplained phenomena begin to manifest in the following days. The spotlight almost hits Peter when it accidentally falls from the ceiling. In his trailer, Anthony finds a silver cross and an old movie script belonging to a former actor. The script is filled with gibberish writings and cryptic messages. Dark markings appear on Anthony’s body. His sleepwalking becomes more aggressive, to the point where he scratches the front door until his hands bleed.

Directed by American filmmaker Joshua John Miller, from an original script he co-wrote with Canadian screenwriter M.A. Fortin, “The EXORCISM” is basically a film within a film. The story is perhaps inspired by the making of supernatural horror films about exorcism, notably William Friedkin’s 1973 classic, “The Exorcist,” considered one of the most significant and influential horror movies of all time.

While clearly inspired by the making of “The Exorcist,” the film never explicitly says it. Instead, the movie within the film is called “The Georgetown Project,” which apparently shares settings with the 1973 film.

The film features some truly great and memorable scenes. One utilizes a long shot that travels through the three-story house, culminating in a pan out that reveals the entire house is a giant setpeice on a soundstage. In the third act, another unforgettable scene unfolds, where the main character is demonically contorted, presumably by the evil entity known as Meloch. His twisted body is put on horrifying display in a supernatural spectacle before the entire crew. (Sadly, the official trailer revealed this scene, which would have been a much more climatic moment in the film.)

Molech (also spelled Moloch or Molek) was a Canaanite deity associated with the horrific practice of child sacrifice in the Bible. The name likely derives from combining the Hebrew word “melek” (king) with the vowels of the word “boshet” (shame), suggesting Molech was seen as a shameful or false king. Worship of Molech, which often involved burning children alive as offerings, was condemned as a grave sin against the Hebrew God.

However, the screenplay is plagued by several issues, including slow pacing, multiple flashbacks intended to obscure and conceal the past of the main character, and underdeveloped supporting characters who exhibit unrealistic behaviors and make illogical decisions. For example, in the scene where possessed Anthony attacks Lee, instead of fleeing the apartment or using her cellphone to call for help, she just runs into the kitchen in an attempt to call the police from a landline. How does that make any sense?

Or consider another scene: right after everyone witnesses Anthony’s body contort in a supernatural way and violently slam his head repeatedly against the hardwood dining table, everyone just returns to their normal life as if nothing happened. How is that even possible?

Despite the filmmaker’s attempt to build suspense throughout the film, it ultimately delivers an ending that feels confused and underwhelming.

The EXORCISM was theatrically released in the United States on 21 June 2024.

‘The Exorcist’ Priest Was Haunted While Filming the Horror Classic. Now His Son Has Directed an Ambitious Satire About a Cursed Remake
Miller’s dad was the actor Jason Miller, who played Father Damien Karras in “The Exorcist.” He often told Joshua stories of the purportedly haunted set, recounting fires that started around the production and the injuries and deaths that would impact those who worked on the film.