From duking it out in the Gladiator ring alongside vicious wild animals and formidable opponents to playing the titular Robin Hood and clashing with Prince John (Oscar Isaac), Russell Crowe is no stranger when it comes to facing off against major threats. But, his latest role in Sony Pictures’ The Pope’s Exorcist will take him into even more sinister territory when his character stands up against the devil himself. In a newly dropped clip, audiences can catch another jump-scare from the film that lands in theaters on April 14.
Short but sweet, today’s teaser opens on Crowe’s Father Gabriele Amorth igniting a lighter in a pitch-black room. What first appears as dark and silent is quickly illuminated as the flame flickers and reveals a terrifying demon screaming in the face of the exorcist. As the fire explodes, the clip cuts to another scene of Father Amorth holding out a crucifix toward an unseen entity while an adult and child cower in the background. Teasing what’s to come, a voiceover can be heard saying “this is just the beginning” before the speedy trailer comes to an end with the film’s title logo and release date information.
Samaritan and Son of a Gun director Julius Avery helms the supernatural thriller which is an adaptation of the real-life Father Amorth’s personal stories as he wrote them in his pair of memoirs: An Exorcist Tells His Story and An Exorcist: More Stories. While others in the Catholic Church raised an eyebrow at his work, Father Amorth found a friend in the Pope who named him the Vatican’s official exorcist. Over his time serving in his position, Amorth claims that he carried out over 100,000 exorcisms and founded the International Association of Exorcists – which is exactly what it sounds like.
While there are quite literally hundreds of thousands of stories to tell from Father Amorth’s time as the Chief Exorcist of the Vatican, The Pope’s Exorcist will primarily focus on the tale of the priest’s dance with the devil over the soul of a young boy. With a personal vendetta against the famous Amorth, the demon ruining the boy’s life asks for the Father by name, ready to take on the best of the best. As good and evil come to blows, mysteries surrounding the Vatican’s past entanglements with this demon come to light, which puts Father Amorth on a collision course for the truth. Along with Crowe, the film also features John Wick: Chapter 2 star Franco Nero and The Witch’s Ralph Ineson with an ensemble cast that includes Cornell S. John, Alex Essoe, Laurel Marsden, Daniel Zovatto, and Peter Desouza-Feighoney.
Check out the latest teaser for The Pope’s Exorcist below and prepare to come face-to-face with evil when the film hits theaters on April 14.
