First off, I wasn’t going to actually post this one, I haven’t had time lately and although it has been written for a while, I just hadn’t gotten around to actually posting it, but my friend said I should so I am doing this for her…
I am always looking for the next good horror movie; it seems that there are so many opportunities for a great horror movie to be made that are just missed. By making a movie PG-13, you know it isn’t going to be scary. A 13 year old can go to it for crying out loud and you can still scare them by jumping out from inside their closet!! So when I saw the previews for The Rite, I was a little more than skeptic. Being that it was a movie about possession and demons gave me hope, seeing it rated at PG-13 pretty much let me know it wasn’t going to be scary and would pretty much suck.
The movie is based on a true story about a priest in training, Michael Kovak (played by Colin O’Donoghue). Michael didn’t want to be a priest, but being from a traditional Italian family Michael had two choices if he wanted to go to college…join the priesthood or become a mortician. Being that he watched and assisted his father embalm and prepare his own mother for the grave, Michael choose to avoid that career path and instead choose to join the priesthood and use it as a means to an end to get his college degree.
Michael worked diligently throughout his time at Seminary. He was an excellent student, but he knew this is not what he truly wanted to do and right after his graduation he sent an email to Father Matthew (played by Toby Jones), his advisor, explaining that he could no longer follow the path before him because he did not have faith. Later that night Michael packs up his things to leave, but Father Matthew attempts to go after him, talk to him. As Michael is crossing the street Father Matthew chases after him and Michael causes an accident. Father Matthew and a young woman passing by on a bicycle get hit by a van. As Michael runs over to the woman as she lay is the rain socked street, she reaches up to him and touches his priest’s collar and begs for him to give her last rites. Michael pulled between his inability to believe and his desire to help breaks and gives the woman last rites as Father Matthew looks on with renewed hope for the young priest in training.
A few days later, Michael meets with Father Matthew again to discuss his desire to still leave the seminary. Father Matthew make a surprising move and tells Michael that he “could have Michaels degree taken back and force him to pay back the Seminary for the money they spent to educate him”. Michael looks at Father Matthew with shock, Father Matthew makes a deal with Michel that if he attends an exorcism school at the Vatican in Roma, completes it, and still wants to live the Seminary he will back him 100%. Michael, realizing he is cornered, accepts Father Matthews deal and travels to the Roma, Italy.
Michael starts his class with Father Xavier (played by Ciarรกn Hinds), but his skepticism keeps him distant, always challenging Father Xavier to consider psychology and mental illness before tossing up abnormal behavior to demon possession. All of the other students in the class frown down upon Michael except for one girl, Angeline (played by Alice Braga), who is in fact a journalist not a sister in training. Angeline and Michael become friends. Father Xavier in an attempt to sway Michael’s views send him to meet Father Lucas (played by Anthony Hopkins). Father Lucas is an unorthodox priest who sees the world of faith through much different eyes and has performed over 1000 exorcism. Father Lucas introduces Michael to a much darker side of Catholicism.
Upon Michael’s first visit with Father Lucas a young girl, Rosaria (played by Marta Gastini), shows up to Father Lucas house with her Aunt. Rosaria is a 16 year old girl who was raped by her father and is now pregnant. Michael gets to see his first exorcism, but believes that Rosaria is not possessed but instead dealing with her issues with her father and her pregnancy. Michael is unsure of what to think of this strange occurrence and although still questioning the legitimacy of the exorcism begins to follow Father Lucas around.
The more Michael follows Father Lucas around the more he begins to question everything he believes. He sees Rosaria have violent and terrifying secures with the demon pushing itself to the surface. Rosaria can tell Michael things about his life, his father and his mother that no one knows. Michael slowly begins to believe. One day Michael and Father Lucas go out to make a house call to a young boy and his mother. The boy is convinced that a demon in the body of a mull with blazing red eyes is attaching him and biting him in his sleep every night. The young boy shows Father Lucas the marks. Father Lucas tells the mother to bring him the boy’s pillow and he proceeds to pull a lizard out of it. Father Lucas tells the boy that the lizard was the demon and he is now free of these dreams. Michael looks on in shock, until he realizes that Father Lucas only did a cheap magic trick to placate the mother and boy. As Michael and Father Lucas prepare to leave the boy looks directly at Michael and whispers something to his mother, his mother gasps and tells him he should not say such things.
After the disappointment from realizing that Father Lucas was using cheap magic tricks, he leaves for a few days. Refusing to go back and angry at himself for allowing belief in exorcisms to creep into his mind. When Michael does final return, Rosaria is back, and in worse condition than before. Michael and Father Lucas have no option but to take her to the hospital for medical care. While at the hospital, Father Lucas continues to perform the exorcism. Exhausted they leave the room to regain their strength, but during the night Rosaria miscarries and both the baby and mother die. Father Lucas falls into a deep depression, feeling that it was his fault both mother and child died. Try as he may, Michael cannot pull Father Lucas from his depression, and Michael turns to Angeline for guidance.
Angeline goes with Michael to Father Lucas’ house, but it is not how he remembers it. Father Lucas is sitting outside his house in the pouring rain, exhibiting significant signs of demonic possession. Father Lucas, coming back to his sense momentarily and leads them into his house and knowing that he is possessed, he asks Michael to lock him in the upstairs room and find Father Xavier so that he can perform an exorcism.
Michael and Angeline leave to find Father Xavier only to learn that he is on a retreat and will be out of contact for 3 days. Knowing they do not have the time to wait 3 days the duo returns to the house. They walk in and the house is a mess, crosses are upside down, items are broken and on the floor and the door that Michael and locked Father Lucas behind is unlaced and cracked open. Venturing up the stairs, they find Father Lucas sitting in the middle of the room, but he is no longer himself.
The demon turns onto Michael and his lost faith, as Michael attempts to rebuke the demon and free Father Lucas.
Although you can guess the ending, it is better to leave it for you to find out. Although this movie was not something that I would suggest you rush out to theaters and see, I would suggest that you rent it when you get a chance one night and have nothing better to do. There are quite a few twists and turns and everything in this movie is connected in one way or another. If it hadn't been for Anthony Hopkins, I do not think this movie would have been as good. It had moments where it was so slow, I wanted to yell at the screen to "HURRY UP". Overall, I would give this movie maybe a 5 out of 10, and only because of Hopkins does it even get a 5
And of course, I was right, NOT SCARY. I am sick of movies not being scary and would love to see one that actually is for a change, but that is a whole other vent for another day.
