The International Association of Exorcists (IAE) have branded the picture 'unreliable splatter' while claiming the title is 'pretentious'.
They went on to say the movie poses 'unacceptable doubt' to the public as to who 'the real enemy is, the devil or ecclesiastical power'.
The group said in a statement: 'The end result is to instil the conviction that exorcism is an abnormal, monstrous, and frightening phenomenon, whose only protagonist is the devil, whose violent reactions can be faced with great difficulty.
'This is the exact opposite of what occurs in the context of exorcism celebrated in the Catholic church in obedience to the directives imparted by it.'
Although the Catholic Church officially recognises exorcism, its modernisers see it as a medieval hangover that plays on superstition to strengthen religious devotion.
Russell recently revealed a creepy incident that occurred while he was filming the new horror film about demonic possession.
The Oscar winner said that after completing filming on The Pope's Exorcist one day, he found a dead bird on his door step.
Still, the Gladiator star was quick to dismiss the suggestion that the spooky incident was the work of some other-worldly evil force.
Telling the story on social media site Joe, Russell, who lives on a farm in northern NSW, said that he thought that a wild animal was responsible for the grisly find.
The incident occurred while Russell was filming the Pope's Exorcist in Ireland.
'Being an old bushy, I just sort of put two and two together and realised that there must be some creature around there who had noticed that we weren't there and had proffered the dead bird as a welcome home gift,' Russell explained.
WHERE ELSE COULD A DEMON BE HIDING? THE LAST PLACE WHERE TO LOOK.
HINT 1: THE DIRECTOR'S NAME IS JULIUS.
HINT 2: "...as regards its significance, the chair (cathedra in Latin) or throne of a bishop represents his authority as the shepherd of his flock..." Fr John Flader
"Russell Crowe delivers a chilling performance as the Pope's Exorcist in this shocking adaptation of the real-life Catholic priest's true story.
By MATHEW COYTE, 28 March, 2023
Russell Crowe takes on one of the juiciest roles of his career as the 'James Bond of exorcists' Father Gabriele Amorth in the new film "The Pope's Exorcist."
With the seemingly endless appetite for demonic possession movies like The Conjuring and the Exorcism of Emily Rose, it was inevitable that Hollywood would turn to Father Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican for inspiration.
Russell Crowe stars as Father Gabriele Amorth in The Pope's Exorcist
Amorth (who died in 2016), was an Italian Catholic priest and best-selling author. He was one of the most famous and respected exorcists in the Catholic Church, making him a tantalising character for Oscar® winner Russell Crowe to tackle.
'There is actually a real job called the Chief Exorcist in the Vatican,' says Crowe. 'Father Gabriele Amorth was a real man who held that office for 36 years, and was involved in tens of thousands of exorcisms.'
'Gabriele Amorth had a purity of faith that gave him a level of courage and bravery to do the job,' Crowe continues. 'It's a very dark pursuit – you're dealing a lot with people who are suffering deeply.'
Crowe, who has played a number of characters drawn from real life – Jeffrey Wigand in The Insider, John Nash in A Beautiful Mind, Roger Ailes in Loudest Voice – says he was attracted by the opportunity to portray a real-life exorcist.
'I do enjoy the responsibility of playing real people. I've done it a few times. There is an extra responsibility when you're playing somebody real, to try and get the essence of that person across.'
For Crowe, The Pope's Exorcist is the first time he has played a lead in a horror movie. 'It was just something I hadn't done – a genre I've never really touched at all. To be quite frank, I don't really like scary movies. They put me off my sleep,' he says.
'I'm incredibly superstitious. Moving in circles like this where you're examining situations that the characters face… It's not necessarily a comfortable place for me.'
Despite having such a dark vocation, Amorth remained light-hearted in his methods. He began his rituals by literally thumbing his nose at the devil. He'd tell jokes: 'You know why the devil flees when he sees me? Because I'm uglier than he is!'
'Our director Julius Avery always described this movie as a battle between two apex predators: the devil versus Father Amorth,' says producer Doug Belgrad.
'He's one of those rogues inside an institution – an iconoclast who challenges the status quo,' says Avery. 'I admire that. Throughout his time as the chief exorcist of the Vatican, he was a very controversial figure – he spoke up.'
To understand what made Amorth tick, Crowe travelled to Rome, where he spent a week meeting people from the Vatican who knew the Pope's exorcist. For all of the rumours of the secretive Church, he says, 'I have to say that the Church was very open. We were given some extreme privileges by those in charge at the Vatican.'
Crowe says he discovered the true Amorth through his research. “He had a certain irreverent take on things that I tried to bring into the film. He’s an individual, not a cookie cutter man of the cloth. He rides a Lambretta motor scooter!”"
More photos below.
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