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Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Pope’s Exorcist.

The Pope’s Exorcist is based on the life and writings of Father Gabriele Amorthwhich is performed by Russell Crowe in the movie. Amorth was an Italian Catholic priest who served as a papal-appointed exorcist for the Vatican in the 1980s. He documented the thousands of exorcists he played in a series of books including An exorcist tells his story And An Exorcist: More Stories, on which the film is directly based. The film follows Amorth as he attempts to help a traumatized American family living in Spain, as their young son, Henry (Peter DeSouza-Feighoney), is possessed by a malevolent demon. There’s a lot going on throughout the film, from demons jumping out of bodies to a bunch of religious lore. If you find yourself caught up in the chaos of the finale and need clarification on the details, Collider is here! That’s all that happened at the end of The Pope’s Exorcist.

The Pope’s Exorcist

Follow Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican’s leading exorcist, as he investigates the possession of a child and uncovers a conspiracy that the Vatican has tried to keep secret.

Release date

April 14, 2023

Director

Jules Avery

Rating

A.

Duration

103 minutes

What is “The Pope’s Exorcist” about?

Julia (The Haunting of Bly ManorIt is Alex Essoe) is a single mother, having lost her husband just a year ago in a car accident which saw him impaled, in the presence of their young son Henry, who has not spoken since the traumatic event. Amy (Laurel Marsden) is the rebellious teenage sister who would rather die than move to Spain. They move to San Sebastian Abbey, an abandoned castle that was bequeathed to the family by the deceased husband (it has been in his family for generations – details are hazy). They only intend to stay long enough to flip the house and sell it. Easy, right? It doesn’t take long before the family realizes that the abbey has much more to offer than they expected. When a construction worker is inexplicably injured, the entire team evacuates in fear.

Meanwhile, we are introduced to Father Gabriele Amorth. After performing an exorcism which included animal sacrifices, he was arrested by the Vatican, which questioned his traditionalist methods. It is clear that Amorth is a proud man of faith and he is not willing to cede his beliefs or methods to anyone. He claims his methods are effective in both cases real exorcisms and cases of extreme psychosis. The mention of a past affair is painful for everyone in the room, foreshadowing a major plot point to come. Father Sullivan (Ryan O’Grady), who looks about 14 years old, is outraged by Amorth’s defiance and reminds him who he is answering, but Amorth storms out before being excused, as he will only be questioned by the Pope himself (Franco Nero).

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Henry, mute for a year, begins to say absurd and sexual things to his mother. The 11-year-old now has a monstrous, older (and British) voice, and after scratching his face, she takes him to the hospital, but his vital signs indicate he’s fine. Julia appeals to the local priest, Father Esquibel (Daniel Zovatto, who is no stranger to the horror genre). However, Esquibel is not the priest the demon needs: he wants someone higher! Amorth is encouraged by the Pope to help this family, and so he boards his little Vespa to try to help this desperate family.

Past trauma is a powerful demon in “The Pope’s Exorcist”

Amorth gets more than he bargained for as this demon’s evil deepens, all the way to the Vatican. The demon inside Henry knows the name Amorth and taunts him about his past traumas. Amorth explores St. Sebastian’s Abbey further and concludes that this is no ordinary case. A fairly obvious metaphor that the film stays true to is this: these satanic demons represent the figurative demons of the past. Amorth cannot let go of a young woman named Rosaria (Bianca Bardoe). Rosaria claimed to be possessed, but Amorth saw through it and let her take care of herself since she was “just” mentally ill. Rosaria then jumped from a tower right in front of Amorth, and he still can’t forgive himself because he feels like he let down a devout parishioner. Esquibel fell in love with a woman and ultimately chose his love for God over her, but still feels guilty for momentarily betraying God and the vows he made. Henry too is haunted by the past, unable to speak after seeing his father impaled. The priests conclude that past traumas provide fertile ground for demons and so, they must rely on hope, faith and prayer to overcome the demon. They must also learn his name because that is what gives them the power to destroy him.

Who is Asmodeus?

In the Abbey Catacombs, the priests try to find materials or clues that can help them defeat the demon. They find artifacts from the Spanish Inquisition and skeletons of members of the Vatican who sacrificed themselves in an attempt to contain the escaped malevolent demon. They come across the skeleton of Brother Alonso de Ojeda, one of the most famous exorcists and who helped Queen Isabella during the Inquisition. They discover in his journals that he was once possessed by a demon so evil, he locked himself in the basement of the abbey in order to protect the rest of the world from the relentless evil of the spirit. Father Esquibel deduces that this is why the demon called Amorth: he wanted to have as powerful an army as possible.. The two priests enter the basement of the abbey where they finally find the name of the demon, “Asmodeus”. They share a powerful conversation in which they admit the past that haunts them, and Amorth teaches Esquibel the Latin phrases he must remember to defeat the demon.

How do Amorth and Esquibel defeat Asmodeus?

Back in Henry’s room, Amorth tells Julia that she must call her son, because a mother’s love will help overcome such evil. Henry looks more and more like Satan himself, and just as all hope seems lost, Henry is rid of the demon… Psych! The demon appears to have split in two and possesses both Amy and Henry. Amy turns into a human spider and starts crawling all over the floor and ceiling. The demon then suffocates Julia and Esquibel. Amorth realizes what he must do to save his new best friend and the terrified family, and so he sacrifices himself.. He tells Esquibel to run away with the family.

Amorth does his best to stop the demon from taking over his body, but it doesn’t look very good! He returns to the catacombs to destroy himself and the demon, ending his tyrannical reign forever. And then, out of nowhere, the Virgin Mary, in her iconic white and blue look, rises from the spooky puddle in the middle of the floor. Just when you think she’s here to save the day, she quickly transforms into a monstrous spirit. Esquibel returns to help his friend, but looks like the demon has taken over. But then he remembers the Latin phrases that Gabriele taught him earlier! As Asmodeus grows weaker from the Latin prayers, he is reincarnated as the two priests’ past wives. Rosaria, as a maniacal killer, attacks Amorth, and Esquibel’s former love appears naked and covered in blood from head to toe. The men eventually defeat them and Asmodeus is finally destroyed..

Will there be a sequel to “The Pope’s Exorcist”?

The two men went to the Vatican where they were congratulated by the Pope for their courage. We also find out that Julia, Amy and Henry have returned safely to the United States and that Henry is doing better! One of Gabriele’s few allies in the Vatican, Mgr Lumumba (Cornelius John), got a promotion. Lumumba shows them around and explains that the Abbey of Saint Sebastian was one of the sites where 200 angels fell from the sky and transformed into demons, explaining the creation of Asmodeus. The film ends with an allusion to a possible sequel, and with a the sequel already litit looks like we’re going to have more The Pope’s Exorcist in the future. Will the new best priest friends become a Vatican-certified Holmes and Watson team? Let’s hope not, like the movie was absolutely horrible!

The Pope’s Exorcist is available for streaming on Netflix in the United States

Watch on Netflix