The Rite

This is a movie that deals with the "delicate" theme of exorcism (i.e. the practice of evicting a demon from a person they are believed to be possessed). I describe it as delicate because it seems very difficult to distinguish a person with a mental illness from someone who is possessed, IF such thing exists at all in real life.

In past times, demonic possession was a common belief to explain the abnormal behavior of a person. Even nowadays, when everything else has failed, and the science can't provide a solution, people in some parts of the world still believe in that and seek help to practices of mysticism like exorcisms.

In this movie exorcism is presented in conjunction with lost faith. It is inevitable that the non-believer has to see with his own eyes for his faith to be restored.

The atmosphere of the movie is eerie from the start. Even before the demons...present themselves! The reluctant hero and the universe that conspires so he can find his way to God, is presented in a solid way.

The cast is good. Anthony Hopkins is as excellent as ever. The music helps to establish the theme of the movie and Rome and the Vatican look majestic as ever, maybe the best set to place such a movie.

There are some grisly images but you want be scared because of them. The director bets on the atmosphere if not anything else.

Overall: Not a great movie, but not bad either. It won't help your faith to become stronger. For that look elsewhere.

The Rite is a good and very atmospheric exorcism film. Although released clearly not in a good time for this sub-genre, it still holds up well even 10 years later.

The setting is nice, the cinematography is great. It's not a demon-slasher like the more recent pieces of this sub-genre (like The Nun) and it plays more into the psychological aspect (just as the director did with 1408), this is how I like my exorcism films.

But what really makes this work for me, it's the performances. This film is carried by acting, and although most of the cast did a great job, O'Donoghue, Hauer...Hopkins stole the show. You get completely immersed in his performance, every detail, every emotion is projected through it. It is clearly one of his best if not the best roles since The Silence of the Lambs.

The story itself of course isn't perfect, and it has some elements reminiscent of the time, but when Hopkins is on screen, you just completely forget about everything else.

Personally, I think the film is way underrated on IMDB, especially if you compare the rating to more recent entries in this sub-genre.

A strong recommendation.

While I was always waiting to see what happened next and interested in how the good guys would overcome the challenges they faced I felt completely detached from the main character, Michael Kovak. I don't need to like the main character but I still need to connect. Unfortunately, Michael was very emotionally inaccessible and therefore I never really cared for him.

On a positive note, Anthony Hopkins had a very good performance and the little field trips that he took the "doubter" on were some of the best parts of the movie. I loved how Kovak hung on to his doubt even when faced with an example of the possessed knowing the unknowable. The pacing was slow and gradually ratcheted up the tension as it went along. For some this may be boring but I was comfortable with it as it made the events unfolding feel natural instead of forced or rushed.

Overall, it was an alright movie that could have been great but just wasn't.

"The Rite" is an American supernatural horror film about an American seminary student who travels to Italy to take an exorcism course. The turn of events at Rome make him question his self beliefs and embark him on a journey of self fruition and worldly truth.

Cast wise, No complain. Anthony Hopkins seems very natural for his role of Father Lucas, an unorthodox Exorcist who questions his faith after a failed exorcism. His performance,specially the devil possessed climax performance brings in mind the chilling menace he showcased in "Silence Of The Lambs" or "Fracture" etc. Newcomer Colin O'Donoghue plays his role of an upcoming reluctant Priest cum Exorcist with diligence and audacity. His appearance,something of a mixture of dark and white makes him an ideal candidate for Batman's Bruce Wayne role. His performance was not over-the-top nor was it beginner's mess. Rest chips in well in their roles.

"The Rite" strength and weakness both lies in its Storyline. Fact is the storyline deals with the sensitive issues of demonic possession, faith contradictions, exorcism, good versus bad issues in a very delicate ways. Neither the Director injects heroic acts to make it entertaining nor incorporate gore and violence to make an impact. Everything is dealt in a very instinctual manner, rendering the movie being liked by a section of viewers for its authenticity and veracious dealing with its subject material; on the other hand, being distasteful to the other section of viewers for being non entertaining and devoid of gore and violence.

Overall, "The Rite" has something missing and something present. Even though the subject material might be difficult to digest for most viewers, "The Rite" succeeds in capturing the viewer's attention and appreciation.

My Verdict: 7/10

After losing faith in the exorcism sub-genres and my sister telling me how average this movie was, i didn't expect much from The Rite. Honestly, the only reason i watched it was because of Anthony Hopkins, and i am glad i did. This movie has everything that fans want in an exorcism movie. Some people may find it a bit slow paced but the movie does not steer off course, every minute is relevant to the storyline.

Even in his 70's, Mr Hopkins did just what was expected from him. He gave a powerful performance which scared the living hell out of me and played his most convincing role since Hannibal Lector but surprisingly so did someone else, someone who i had never heard of. Yes, i am talking about Colin O'Donoghue, who managed to stay in the light and make a great connection with his co-stars. Every character in the movie was fully utilized specially that of Alice Braga.

I find that many people fail to see the spark in this film, and the only reason i can think of is that people these days are too fond of gore which this movie lacks. Surely, The Rite is not for the "Doubters" but for the people who believe and have interest in this subject.

After decades of miserable exorcism movies, finally we got us a winner. Can i dare say that this movie is better than The Exorcist?, No i cant but this is definitely the "Second Best" ..

Now i can confidently say that "you were wrong big sister".

With solid performances, amazing cinematography and mind blowing sound effects, i give it a 9/10.