Directed by:
Mikael HåfströmScreenplay:
Michael PetroniCinematography:
Ben DavisComposer:
Alex HeffesCast:
Anthony Hopkins, Colin O'Donoghue, Alice Braga, Ciarán Hinds, Toby Jones, Rutger Hauer, Marta Gastini, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Chris Marquette (more)VOD (4)
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Inspired by true events, the film follows seminary student Michael Kovak (Colin O’Donoghue), who is sent to study exorcism at the Vatican in spite of his own doubts about the controversial practice and even his own faith. Wearing his deep skepticism like armor, Michael challenges his superiors to look to psychiatry, rather than demons, in treating the possessed. Only when he’s sent to apprentice with the unorthodox Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins) - a legendary priest who has performed thousands of exorcisms - does Michael’s armor begin to fall. As he is drawn into a troubling case that seems to transcend even Father Lucas’s skill, he begins to glimpse a phenomenon science can’t explain or control... and an evil so violent and terrifying that it forces him to question everything he believes. (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
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"What did you expect? A spinning head and vomit?" Mikael Håfström hinted at it with 1408, and with The Rite he confirmed it - the guy is hugely talented and his next film should definitely be a horror again. Give us more of it. The Rite is has a great atmosphere, which is all the more pleasing because it doesn't just rely on the flawlessly excellent Hopkins, but relies on skillful direction, cinematography and unobtrusive, but impressive music. There simply hasn't been a better exorcism movie since The Exorcist. Four pure stars.__P.S. Only Anthony Hopkins can really afford to answer his mobile phone during the ceremony (although maybe it's because in Max von Sydow's time there were only landlines). A great scene.
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Mikael Hafström is a skilled craftsman. With good actors, he always knows how to turn a promising script into a decent thriller (albeit one that doesn’t invite rewatching). However, the script for The Rite, whose blandness would put to sleep even a red-eyed horse high on amphetamines, made that impossible. It seems that the producers bet that casting Anthony Hopkins covered in impressive makeup and energetically flashing all kinds of Hannibal-like grins would elevate this boring affair to a scary thrill ride. That didn’t happen, and the unremarkable Colin O’Donoghue is no help at all. The Rite doesn’t have a single powerful moment and brings absolutely nothing new to the exorcism sub-genre, which began with the brilliant The Exorcist and has recently been interestingly brushed up by The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Even An American Haunting was more interesting thanks to its historical setting and some juicy visual tricks. The Rite is weak, bland and unnecessary. The whole time it seems to be heading toward something bigger, but it never quite gets there.
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The approach in the opening forty-five minutes is pleasant, but foiled the screenplay which doesn’t manage to get anything extra from it, or anything at all, for that matter. In other words, the change in style from the bracelet scene onward is a release. All of a sudden it’s a sort of “initiation adventure for not-yet-father Lankester Merrin", although not even that can free it of the waters of mediocrity. P.S.: I have probably never seen a dumber and more senseless use of CGI; why not leave it up to the actors?
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Mikael Håfström should not have bothered with the below-average psychological stuff and should have instead focused on the horror elements that work well in the film. This way, many of the motifs (frogs, hooves) are repeated unnecessarily and lose their effectiveness. Despite the attractiveness of the theme, The Rite remains an average spectacle, saved by the excellent Anthony Hopkins and the terrifying exorcism scenes.
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The most average from the averagely average. Mikael Håfström is not a bad director, but this time he got a not very good script. It’s not that it’s stupid, illogical or chaotic, but the story never escalates and doesn’t have any higher ambitions. Anthony Hopkins shines in the climax, but it’s a pity that he is not given more space than the bland apprentice (meaning the “likeable” hero we are supposed to root for). Otherwise, a couple of the jump-scares did scare me, the images of Rome were nice, so, considering that I had free time at the cinema, I don’t regret going :-D If you are not too anti-Catholic, The Rite won’t offend you. A more important question, however, is who it is trying to appeal to. Nobody, I’m afraid.
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