Is 'The Pope's Exorcist' Based on a True Story? Details
Julius Avery's movie 'The Pope's Exorcist' is loosely based on Father Gabriele Amorth's true, blood-curdling encounters with the satan himself.
Five little phrases generally tend to get beneath horror fanatics' skin: Based on a true story. Whether the declare is "based on a true story" or "inspired by true events," a slew of horror flicks have embedded themselves into this category, together with 1963's The Birds, 1979's The Amityville Horror, 2005's The Exorcism of Emily Rose, and 2013's The Conjuring.
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The newest supernatural horror to pull from bone-chilling real-life occasions is Julius Avery's 2023 film The Pope's Exorcist, which follows Father Gabriele Amorth (Russell Crowe) "as he investigates a young boy’s terrifying possession and ends up uncovering a centuries-old conspiracy the Vatican has desperately tried to keep hidden." More in particular, the film is "inspired by the actual files of Father Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican."
According to Entertainment Weekly, the ordained Roman Catholic priest replaced Candido Amantini because the Vatican's leader exorcist in 1992 and allegedly banished demons and malevolent non secular entities up till his 2016 death. Let's talk about the overdue Father Gabriele's experiences within the face of evil.
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Though 'The Pope's Exorcist' is based on a true story, Russell Crowe admitted the film used "quite a bit of artistic license."
Infused with gnarly special results and flashy Hollywood magic, The Pope's Exorcist is not inquisitive about simply sticking to the details. As said by way of Esquire, "the plot itself is a fictional narrative fashioned to dissect the nature of evil and the motivations of the devil."
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That being stated, Father Gabriele's role within the Vatican used to be very real and the film stays true to his characterization. In fact, his odd process title is what attracted Oscar winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator) to the project in the first place.
"I was intrigued with the job title: Chief Exorcist for the Vatican. I was sure some Hollywood screenwriter had come up with a snappy title," he instructed Entertainment Weekly. "When I looked into it, I realized it was a real thing. Then, looking deeper again, I just found him fascinating. He documented the job, and so, from an actor's perspective, that's just a treasure chest, man."
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Father Gabriele documented his nightmare fueled encounters in books like 1990's An Exorcist Tells His Story and 2010's Memoirs of an Exorcist: My Life Fighting Satan — which he wrote along Italian journalist Marco Tosatti.
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Additionally, William Friedkin — the Oscar-winning director of 1973's The Exorcist — released his documentary The Devil and Father Amorth in 2017. The movie showcases real photos of Father Gabriele performing an exorcism on an Italian lady within the the town of Alatri.
In the director's 2016 Vanity Fair article, he recalled staring at in horror as the possessed girl frothed at the mouth and screamed "Io sono Satana!" — which interprets to "I am Satan!"
Hilariously, the priest's favorite film was once The Exorcist.
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Father Gabriele told the filmmaker that "out of 100 people who seek [his] help, one or two at most may be possessed." He persistently instructed the ones looking for an exorcism to first take medicinal or psychiatric avenues, as many have been suffering with disorders like epilepsy or schizophrenia.
Though the odds of possession are low, the brave priest crossed paths with quite a few folks webhosting hostile spirits. He got candid about his experiences in a rare interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica, revealing that "the devil is not everywhere ... but when he is present it is painful."
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"The devil is pure spirit, invincible. He is shown with the painful blasphemies coming from the person which he possesses. He can stay hidden. He can speaks different languages. He can transform himself," he told the e-newsletter.
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The priest regularly required six or seven assistants to restrain a possessed particular person. Shockingly, he recalled possessed people regurgitating nails or glass fragments.
"Some have vomited metal the size of a human finger, others have vomited rose petals," he shared.
Unfortunately, Father Gabriele's fellow clergymen could not stand the jarring sounds of screaming coming from his place of business. With slamming doors, overturned furniture, and surreal vomiting filling his workdays, he used to be forced to change workplaces over 23 instances.
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The power of Christ is it seems that very compelling, as Father Gabriele supposedly handled over 70,000 instances of demonic possession via 2010. By 2016, the number used to be 160,000, although many have disputed this claim, including canon legislation professor Dr. Edward Peters.
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Hollywood pros expressed interest in Father Gabriele's implausible encounters with the Prince of Darkness for many years. Before his loss of life, the priest gave producer Patrick Kaczmarek the fairway mild to conform his best-selling memoirs into a movie. But why him?
“I believe I used to be in a position to prevail the place other producers failed in that I was in a position to convince Father Amorth about my honest non secular devotion,” Patrick Kaczmarek stated, consistent with Esquire. “I used to be in a position to convince him that if he took the danger to paintings with me, that I might check out to ensure the Catholicity can be preserved within the movie — and that he would be respected as a particular person along side the Church and his non secular order.”
Executive producer Edward Siebert, S.J. — who is also a Jesuit priest — insisted that "the story of Father Amorth and his unique role in fighting evil is an important story to tell."
The Pope's Exorcist hits U.S. theaters on April 14, 2023.
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