An actor (Russell Crowe), who’s a recovering alcoholic, agrees to play a priest in a horror movie; the last guy who had the part died mysteriously.

With this and The Pope’s Exorcist (2023), it felt like Crowe was entering a Donald Pleasence phase. The ambition here though is to deliver beyond B movie thrills. The idea isn’t bad, serving as a meta comment on The Exorcist (1973).

Crowe turns in a good performance, and so does David Hyde Pierce as a consulting priest, but the film lacks scares and turns into a bit of a drag.

2024-U.S. 95 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Joshua John Miller. Cast: Russell Crowe (Anthony Miller), Ryan Simpkins (Lee Miller), Sam Worthington (Joe), Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg, Adrian Pasdar, David Hyde Pierce. 

Trivia: Co-produced by Kevin Williamson.