Films about Father Gabriele Amorth, His Life, His Books

It is my guess the thing that many People and non-Catholics think of when they hear the word exorcist it is William Peter Blatty 1973 film of the same name, and because the film was made into a horror, some may think of exorcism as fantasy or an archaic religious belief based on pagan superstitions. However, in the Catholic faith exorcists and exorcisms are quite real. Perhaps the lack of belief in the work of today’s exorcists is because it is not as sensationalized and over dramatize as in the horror films and in the most recent streaming programs as Paramount’s Evil and Fox’s TV series, The Exorcist. Nevertheless, the practice of exorcism does exist within the Catholic faith. This I verified during a talk with one of my priest (I forget which one); it was some years ago, and as a Catholic I too believe that there are some people whose nature is so evil, so vile that their very nature appears to twist into the personas of demons. Likewise, I also believe in angels, at least the four written about in the bible, and who have been getting a bum rap in films and television lately.

Well having stated the above, it was recently announced that there are plans for a reboot of the Exorcist. What this remake can offer that the original film with Linda Blair gave us, is beyond me. It seems that viewers or at least film makers of the genre cannot make enough films based on exorcisms, and that the major source for many of these films appear to be based on the novels of Father Gabriele Amorth, a real catholic priest and renounced exorcist.

Father Gabriele Amorth his life, his books:

An Exorcist Tells His Story

 

An Exorcist: More Stories

Recently there have been announcements of plans for two films and again based on Father Amorth memoirs. The first is ‘The Pope’s Exorcist’ starring Alex Essoe and Daniel Zovatto and Russell Crowe.

This film is said to be a portrayal of Father Amorth, who acted as chief exorcist of the Vatican and who has performed more than 100,000 exorcisms in his lifetime. The film will follow him as he battles with Satan and his demons that have inflicted people with unnatural desires to do evil and appear to be possessed as based on his memoirs.

The second film is the fore mentioned Exorcist remake that Jason Blum, founder and CEO of Blumhouse is making. Who will star in the film is unknown at this time. More importantly, which young actress will step into Blair’s shoes to portray Regan MacNeil is equally unknown.

To end my rant, we believers in the existence of true demonic like human beings, have become entrenched  in viewing series and films depicting Hollywood versions of exorcisms and can only hope that these two upcoming films will portray Father Amorth’s life experiences as an exorcist with as much accuracy and dignity as in the pages of his books. 

Written by Widescreen Online Review Plus