Goodness knows Hollywood has produced plenty of films claiming to be based on true events—The Exorcist and The Amityville Horror fall under that heading. The Rite is the latest member of the group. However, the filmmakers want us to take this film very seriously. “What do you expect? sighs Father Trevant (Anthony Hopkins) veteran exorcist to a young apprentice who’s just seen him cast the demon out of a teenage girl. “Spinning heads, pea soup?”
Desperate to escape his father (Rutger Hauer), and a life of running the family mortuary, Michael Kovak (Colin O’Donoghue) joins a the seminary. Four years later, he is seriously rethinking his vows. His mentor, Father Matthew (Toby Jones) suggests he join the Vatican’s exorcist training program—it’s either that, or repay the Church the $100,000 it paid out in his tuition. With little choice, Michael is taken to Rome where he meets his instructor Father Xavier (Ciaran Hinds), and an undercover reporter named Angelina (Alice Braga). Michael doesn’t believe in the concept of demonic possession, so the church sends him to work with Father Lucas (Hopkins) in an attempt to change his thinking. There, Michael learns the truth about exorcism, as well as God’s plan for his life.
Among the Father’s cases: a very pregnant 16-year-old who contorts and throws up nails and a little boy who bears the mark of a donkey-demon; unimpressed, Michael declares Lucas a charlatan with a big bag of tricks. When challenged by Father Lucas, he has an answer for nearly every question, logically explaining away things that on the surface, seem to be proof of demons. Of course, since this is a horror movie, the demon will turn out to be real, but it’s hard to care.
When the demon finally appears, he engages in a battle of wits with the would-be exorcist, attempting to undermine his faith in God and himself. The lack of a physical confrontation briefly increases the tension. Unfortunately, director Mikael Håfström isn’t able to maintain it, and the story crumbles shortly thereafter. The film becomes a typical exorcist/horror film.
Whatever its faults, The Rite showcases better acting then this genre is usually afforded. These days, Anthony Hopkins will do almost anything if the price is right. Here though, he gives Father Lucas a real sincerity and depth, instead of using over-the-top antics. His co-star, Colin O’Donaghue, is a newcomer to big-budget movies, having spent the much of his young career on Irish television. The supporting cast offers respected character actors Toby Jones and Ciaran Hinds while rescuing Rutger Hauer from a cinematic purgatory. Alice Braga acts as the token female.
While it’s not The Exorcist when evaluating the fear factor, fans of the genre may want to check out The Rite just for the solid performances. It’s not a terrible way to spend a couple of hours.
Accurately framed at 2.40:1 and presented in 1080p, the transfer exhibits strong contrast, deep, color and decent blacks, though in the darkest scenes the image tend to look rather flat. Fine object detail holds up in both close ups and wide shots, though there also seems to be a mild amount of edge enhancement from time-to-time.
Dialogue in the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix is consistently clear and intelligible. Surround activity is balanced and enveloping with numerous of atmospheric and directional sounds. LFE kicks in aggressively in the film’s final act, but overall bass response is balanced and clean throughout, giving the track a satisfying fullness.
Along with a standard DVD, and Digital Copy, we get the following special features:
- The Rite: Solider of God (HD, 7 minutes): Mandated exorcist Father Gary Thomas discusses his personal experiences, his training in modern exorcism, real exorcism schools in Rome, public preconceptions of the practice, the motivations of real exorcists, apprenticeships in the profession and more.
- Deleted Scenes (HD, 13 minutes): Severe motion blur, significant video anomalies and audio inconsistencies are all over The Rite‘s collection of decent but unoriginal deleted scenes.
- Chilling Alternate Ending (HD, 2 minutes): Not so much.
- BD-Live Functionality
