More than 50 years after The Exorcist set the standard for the genre, filmmakers still attempt more tales in similar realms. For a new twist on this topic, we go to 2023’s The Pope’s Exorcist.

Set in Rome circa 1987, Father Gabriele Amorth (Russell Crowe) operates as the Vatican’s primary exorcist. In this role, he ventures to Spain.

There Father Amorth meets Henry (Peter DeSouza-Feighoney), a young boy apparently bewitched by evil spirits. As Father Amorth works with local priest Father Tomas Esquibel (Daniel Zovatto), he also uncovers some hidden secrets that reveal issues in the church.

Does this mean Pope’s Exorcist confronts the rampant child abuse across various Catholic parishes? Not really – whatever attempts the film makes to separate itself from its dozens of genre peers, it barely shoots for that sort of social commentary.

I don’t fault the filmmakers for that, as not every look at the Catholic Church needs to firmly deal with this topic. Nonetheless, something bolder along those lines would’ve given Pope’s Exorcist a potentially intriguing spin.

In addition, the movie’s title hints at a twist it fails to pursue. One could easily read The Pope’s Exorcist to mean that the pontiff himself (Franco Nero) will need demonic cleansing.

Indeed, the film hints at this possibility along the way. Alas, that becomes an essentially unexplored plot path, so don’t expect to see Father Amorth take action to save the pope’s soul.

Without such a curveball, Pope’s Exorcist largely delivers a standard issue genre tale. It does involve the challenges of the priests themselves more than usual, but otherwise, it feels pretty similar to other flicks in this vein.

Really, the only element that allows Pope’s Exorcist to slightly rise above its peers stems from the involvement of Crowe. Overqualified for a cliché effort such as this, he manages a fairly nimble performance that brings some spark to the proceedings.

Alas, Crowe proves unable to fix what ails the movie. Though not a poor entry in the genre, The Pope’s Exorcist nonetheless proves lackluster and without the inventiveness it needs.

The Pope’s Exorcist appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. Taken from a native 4K production, this turned into a positive Dolby Vision presentation.

Sharpness looked solid. Across the board, the movie seemed accurate and concise.

No jagged edges or shimmering occurred, and I saw no edge haloes. Source flaws were a non-factor, as the movie stayed clean.

Like most modern flicks, Pope’s Exorcist favored a decided teal and amber/orange palette. Within these parameters, the colors appeared solid and HDR added zing to the tones.

Blacks seemed deep and tight, while shadows were largely good, though some shots became a bit murkier than anticipated. HDR gave whites and contrast extra power. In the end, the transfer proved to be appealing.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, I also felt positive about the pretty good Dolby Atmos soundtrack of Pope’s Exorcist. Given the nature of the story, moody environmental information dominated the mix.

These elements filled out the speakers in a fairly involving manner. The movie didn’t become a constant whiz-bang soundfield, but it created a decent sense of place.

The more active “scare moments” used the spectrum in the most dynamic manner, but they failed to appear on a frequent basis. Instead, music and moody ambience became the most prominent components.

Audio quality was fine. Speech seemed natural and concise. Effects depicted the elements with acceptable accuracy and boasted pleasing low-end when necessary.

Music showed positive clarity and range, and they also packed solid bass response at times. This was a perfectly workable mix for the material.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the film’s Blu-ray version? Audio came with a Dolby Atmos mix that seemed a bit more engrossing than the BD’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 track, though the nature of the tale didn’t mean much of a change.

As for the UHD’s Dolby Vision image, it came with improved sharpness, colors and blacks. This turned into an appealing upgrade that barely fell short of “A” status.

Along with the film’s trailer, two featurettes appear here, and Introducing Father Amorth runs six minutes, 28 seconds. It brings notes from producer Jeff Katz, filmmaker William Friedkin, and actors Russell Crowe and Daniel Zovatto.

Here we learn about the real man behind the film’s Father Amorth character and Crowe’s approach to the role. Though brief, this offers a decent overview.

What Possessed You? goes for four minutes, 51 seconds. It involves Crowe, Katz, director Julius Avery,

“Possessed” examines the story and the filmmakers’ attempts to differentiate the movie from its genre peers. A few minor insights emerge.

In a well-trodden genre, can The Pope’s Exorcist give us anything creative? Not really, as other than its connection to the pontiff – and an overqualified lead actor – the film feels like just another cheap scarefest. The 4K UHD brings good picture and audio but it offers only minor bonus materials. I’ve seen worse exorcism movies than this one but it nonetheless fails to deliver anything fresh.