His Jekyll and Hyde moment might have evaporated with Universal’s ill-fated Dark Universe, but Russell Crowe hasn’t turned his back on horror: on the heels of The Pope’s Exorcist, which became a surprise Netflix smash, he’s got The Exorcism—an unrelated film that obviously shares some familiar themes.
In The Exorcism, Crowe plays “a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film,” according to the film’s official description; from the looks of the first trailer, he gets to play the possessed person this time around! It’s also clear The Exorcism is very aware of horror-movie history—The Exorcist is one of Hollywood’s legendary “cursed” movies—and leans heavily into that.
There’s an added layer at play, too: The Exorcism is co-written and directed by Joshua John Miller, the son of Exorcist star Jason Miller. “The origins of the film stem from my childhood spent watching my father, Jason Miller, playing the doomed Father Karras flinging himself out a window at the climax of The Exorcist,” the director explained in a statement provided with the trailer. “If that wasn’t haunting enough on its own, my dad never shied away from telling me stories of just how ‘cursed’ the movie was: the mysterious fires that plagued the production, the strange deaths, the lifelong injuries—the list went on and on. The lore of any ‘cursed film’ has captivated me ever since.”
The Exorcism co-stars Ryan Simpkins (Fear Street) as the increasingly concerned daughter of Crowe’s character, along with several highly recognizable faces: Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg, Samantha Mathis, and a priestly David Hyde Pierce. It’s directed by Miller, who co-wrote with M.A. Fortin, and Scream franchise veteran Kevin Williamson is among the producers. It arrives in theaters June 7.
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