There are plenty of exorcism movies to choose from in October, but not many Russell Crowe riding around Italy on a tiny Vespa while working directly for the Pope. That single-handedly helped turn one small horror film into a huge theatrical hit – and eventually a franchise.
That movie The Pope’s Exorcistand has officially found a new streaming home on it Main video just in time for Halloween. The 2023 supernatural horror film made more than $77 million worldwide against a reported budget of around $18 million, which is a very healthy return for Crowe fighting demons. What’s more, producer Jeff Katz they soon announced that a sequel would be on the way on social media, although that has gone quiet for now.
Katz also hinted at possible titles for the sequel, inspired by the naming style of the Planet of the Apes series. “I personally want to go Planet of the Apes with him so you could get stuff like ‘Pray for the Pope’s Exorcist’ or ‘Heaven Help the Pope’s Exorcist’ and the like,” he said, while Crowe also recently talked about a possible extension of the series.
“Well that’s up for debate right now,” Crowe explained. “The producers from the studio originally got not just one sequel but two. But studio heads have changed now, so that’s going around in a couple of circles. But sure, man. We set that character up so you could take him out and put him in different situations.” He also noted the extensive source material available, based on life Father of Gabriele Amorthwho wrote 12 books.
Collider Exclusive · 8 questions · 2 minutes what are you The biggest horrible nightmare? Elm Street · Chucky · Scream · The Conjuring
Four awesome franchises. Four completely different ways to scare you. One waits until you fall asleep. One makes sure that no one believes you. One of them is already in your friend group. And one is in the house with your family. Answer eight quick questions about how horrible you really look, and find out what nightmare you’ve been made of.
😴Elm Street(Freddy Krueger)
🧸Chucky(Children’s Play)
📞Scream(Ghostface)
🕯️the conjuring(The Warren Files)
01
What horror scene makes you cover your eyes? Four classic pictures. One is worse than the other for you.
02
You are home alone and you hear a noise. First thought? Everyone has one. It comes before you decide anything.
03
What horror movie rule did you break first? Everyone thinks they will survive. Almost no one does.
04
Something very scary happens. What are you doing? Not a movie. In your actual living room, tonight.
05
How do you watch a horror movie? Be honest about this one. No one is checking.
06
Someone offers you real money. What do you still refuse? The amount doesn’t matter. There is one on this list that you do not.
07
What feeling stays with you a week after the movie? Good horror doesn’t stop when the credits roll.
08
Something wakes you up at 3am. What is the worst possibility? Eight questions in, this is the one that will decide your nightmare.
The Lights just went out You have a nightmare…
Four franchises, four completely different ways of getting under your skin. This is the one that was built out of your particular fear, why it works so well on you, and what it would leave behind.
A Nightmare on Elm Street · From 1984
Elm Street
Your nightmare is not waiting outside the door. He is waiting for you to close your eyes, which you will eventually have to do, because no one has ever won that particular argument.
Freddy is horror’s toughest idea: a threat that lives in the one place you can’t protect, can’t lock, and can never avoid.
You are the one who is well through the movie and wide awake at two in the morning. Your own head is where this will damage it.
These films understood fatigue as a terrible engine. The kids on Elm Street don’t lose because they’re weak. They lose because they are tired.
You can lock every door in the house. You still need to sleep.
Children’s Play · Chucky · From 1988
Chucky
The doll is definitely not your nightmare. It is the face of the person who tells you, and the way in which they decide, kindly, that you have thought of everything.
Chucky works precisely because it’s absurd. That’s the trap: the more accurately you describe it, the less anyone will believe you.
You’re the one yelling at the screen because the characters aren’t listening. You know that feeling from real life too.
The franchise is at its best when the adults in the room are a real obstacle, and you’ve met those adults.
By the time someone finally believes you, you will have handled most of it yourself.
Scream · Ghostface · Since 1996
Scream
You have the nightmare number, you know your name, and it has almost certainly been inside your house before. The worst part is that you already know them.
Scream is the only one of these where the killer takes off the mask and turns out to be someone who was at the party.
You are the one who says the twist above before it lands. You watch people the same way you watch movies.
The franchise made the horror rules part of the plot, which means that the survivors are the ones who care. You would pay attention.
Everyone is a suspect, including the person who just offered to walk you home.
The Conjuring · The Warren Files · From 2013
the conjuring
Your nightmare is not entirely about you. It’s about the people sleeping down the hall, and the feeling that nothing here wants to leave.
The Conjuring movies are domestic horror. The house, the family, the very ordinary room that quietly stops feeling ordinary.
Your instinct is to get everyone into one room. Your fear is defensive rather than personal, which is rarer than it sounds.
This is the only franchise where belief is a weapon. The people who come through are the ones who are not alone and refuse to be.
Whatever is here did not come for you. He came for the house, and you are the one standing in the hall.
What was ‘The Pope’s Exorcist’ about?
Father Amorth, on whom the film is closely based, was an important figure in the Catholic Church. He was the Vatican’s Chief Exorcist and claimed to have performed more than 100,000 exorcisms in his career. However, Amorth also admitted that many of the cases he encountered were not demonic possession but mental health issues. As a result of his interesting life and work he went on to establish the International Association of Exorcists. His experiences were recorded in several books and were also featured there William Friedkin 2017 documentary, The Devil and Father Amorth. The Pope’s Exorcist draws heavily from the actual Amorth case files, mixing fact with cinematic fiction to tell its compelling story.
Stay tuned to Collider for updates on the sequel to The Pope’s Exorcist.
