Most professions are flattered by the attentions of Hollywood. Yet a body representing the real-life practitioners depicted in new Russell Crowe horror The Pope’s Exorcist have condemned the film as “unreliable … splatter cinema”.
The film’s plot – which posters declare was “inspired by the actual files of Father Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican” – sees Crowe play Amorth, tasked with investigating a young boy’s possession. In the process, he uncovers a “centuries-old conspiracy” that the Vatican has “desperately tried to keep hidden”.
