If you enjoyed the final half of the Exorcist, you'll find much of it here. While this film doesn't quite have the substance or realism of the aforementioned film, it does give you theatrics in spades, and it wastes almost no time in getting to the "good stuff". Evil kids tied to beds with scratches on their faces, hissing obscenities and looking less human by the day is the name of the game here, with a good dose of The Conjuring's bombastic hauntings and hellish showdowns to sweeten the pot.
While predictability inevitably creeps in and there's a feeling that you've seen it all before in the better films that inspired it, it's applied well here, with an occasional cheeky joke by Crowe's charismatic Father Amorth to make him relatable.
All things said, it's an often fun watch for fans of the demonic possession subgenre of horror that doesn't aspire to be great or memorable as much as spectacular. And therein it succeeds.
While predictability inevitably creeps in and there's a feeling that you've seen it all before in the better films that inspired it, it's applied well here, with an occasional cheeky joke by Crowe's charismatic Father Amorth to make him relatable.
All things said, it's an often fun watch for fans of the demonic possession subgenre of horror that doesn't aspire to be great or memorable as much as spectacular. And therein it succeeds.