There’s a very good reason why Russell Crowe doesn’t like horror movies. The New Zealand-born star has attracted a number of rock-hard roles on the big screen, but he struggles with the spookier side of cinema.
Somewhat surprisingly, in that case, his new movie is the demonic chiller The Pope’s Exorcist – a movie based on a true story, in which he plays Father Gabriele Amorth. It’s his first ever horror leading role.
In an interview with The Digital Fix to mark the release of the new thriller movie, Crowe explained that he chose not to revisit the most famous exorcism movie while preparing to play Amorth – and trauma is the reason why.
“I saw [The Exorcist] when I was 14. I don’t need to see it again. I really don’t,” said Crowe. “I saw it in a movie theatre in Auckland, New Zealand, actually. It was on probably its fourth or fifth run. This usher in the theatre, halfway through, decided it was a funny idea to bang the roof of the theatre with a broom. The 500 of us in the theatre did not share his sense of humour in that moment.”
That’s enough to shake up any novice horror viewer, especially when confronted with one of the most shocking scary movies ever made.
Crowe went on to describe The Exorcist as “an arresting experience and psychologically very powerful”, which might just be the understatement of the century.
But if you’ve more of a stomach for cinematic scares than Crowe, we’ve got you covered on how to watch The Pope’s Exorcist, as well as some of the best movies to scare audiences in 2023. So check out our guides for more on the Evil Dead Rise release date, the Renfield movie release date, and the Insidious 5 release date.
Or for more of the most unforgettable cinematic scares ever, we’ve got the best ghost movies, the best vampire movies, the best zombie movies, and the best body horror movies.