Russell Crowe is an actor who played an exorcist in The Pope’s Exorcist. He is also the star of the new horror film The Exorcism, in which he plays an actor who plays an exorcist in an exorcism movie. Try to keep up.
Vertical released the first trailer for The Exorcism, continuing the horror genre’s renewed obsession with narratives involving exorcisms, Catholicism, and demonic possession. Directed by Joshua John Miller, The Exorcism stars Crowe as an actor who joins the cast of what is apparently the most cursed movie in Hollywood—evoking real-life stories of supposedly cursed productions like Poltergeist and William Friedkin’s The Exorcist.
The Exorcism employs a bit of meta fiction—director and co-writer Miller is the son of Jason Miller, who starred in Friedkin’s classic film. In a statement accompanying the release of the trailer, Joshua John Miller explained, “The origins of the film stem from my childhood spent watching my father, Jason Miller, playing the doomed Father Karras flinging himself out a window at the climax of The Exorcist. If that wasn’t haunting enough on its own, my dad never shied away from telling me stories of just how ‘cursed’ the movie was: the mysterious fires that plagued the production, the strange deaths, the lifelong injuries—the list went on and on. The lore of any ‘cursed film’ has captivated me ever since.”
Here’s the official synopsis for The Exorcism:
Academy Award-winner Russell Crowe stars as Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play.
The Exorcism co-stars Ryan Simpkins, Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg, and David Hyde Pierce, and hits theaters on June 7.
(featured image: Vertical)
