The Rite is another in a long line of demonic possession/exorcism movies that goes a step beyond normal fare by offering compelling action and a thoughtful story but falls apart in the third act and becomes a cookie cutter disappointment.

The Rite stars Colin O’Donoghue as Michael Kovak, a seminary student who was looking to join the priesthood to avoid his father’s work as an undertaker but finds he lacks the faith and conviction to take his vows. In an effort to salvage a valuable potential priest the father superior of the church convinces Kovak to travel to Rome to take part in the Vatican’s newly minted exorcism school. Once there, Kovak’s skepticism leads the class’s instructor to send him to see Father Lucas Trevant (Anthony Hopkins), a Welsh-born Jesuit who has been performing exorcisms for many years. The hope is that if Kovak sees these rites up close and personal he will be convinced in their authenticity. The more he sees the more he fights back with arguments of logic until it appears that Father Lucas might be the victim of a possession himself.

The thing that excited me about the premise of the Rite, which is inspired by a true story (meaning the screenwriter got the idea to write a horror/suspense film from the fact that the Vatican did start teaching exorcism classes), was the idea that a priest without faith and an eye for science and psychology was exploring possession and the exorcism process. The first half of the movie or so delivers on this exciting prospect. Good arguments are made and there is debate about the topic but sadly this all devolves into a standard exorcism horror picture with all the special effects and surreal scenes the director can muster. It is such a let down to see a thoughtful film turn into ridiculous tripe.

There is only so much you can criticize the film for if your argument is that it should convince the audience that possession and exorcism are real if that is the film’s position. If it isn’t meant to be a documentary or a straight biographical effort then the movie shouldn’t have to convince anyone of anything as far as the real world is concerned. All that it should have to do is convince the audience within the context of the material and convince that in the reality of the movie possession is real. I understand this and I am not going to complain about the film’s inability to convince me, a skeptic, of demonic possession being anything other than psychological and physical disorders. What I am going to complain about, however, is that the film fails to persuade me that possession is real in the context of the story itself.

The sad thing about movies like this is that because there are so many different versions of what possession is and does and how to deal with it, the lack of consesus gives filmmakers a bit too much lattitude in terms of visual interpretation.  What I mean by this is that since pretty much anything goes with this stuff filmmakers can use the visual effects as a cructh to avoid real story telling. The bombastic and surreal camera work and effects essentially becomes dues ex machina to rescue the story and try to deliver thrills. Unfortunately, the Rite is no different and the third act is made up of a bunch of gimmicky nonsense that does a disservice to the previous two. There are some good ideas here and some healthy debate but when you walk out of the theater it is hard to feel satisfied with the conclusion and the character arcs feel incomplete.

I would like to see a movie that can start the way this one did and actually finish strong. I am not sure how that can be accomplished but there is a lot of fertile ground fo r exploration of the material. Obviously the Exorcist is the gold standard for possession movies but that was content to go for scares. The Rite offers the audience something more and then pulls it back at the end. It feels like if someone dangled a carrot in front of a mule and then put the  carrot in their pocket and ran away when they  reached the destination. Just like the mule, the audience leaves the theater confused and disappointed.

It is really too bad too. Sir Anthony Hopkins delivers a terrific performance that is about as unhinged and batshit as he has ever delivered and it is a delight to watch. Even when he is more or less normal in the film Hopkins has a burning intensity that elevates the material beyond what was on the page. Rutger Hauer likewise brings gravitas to his role as Kovak’s father and makes the most of a smaller role. For O’Donoghue’s part, Kovak is given just the right amount of of arrogance and trepidation. While some movie goers may feel put off by him, I found that he brought just the right feeling of indecision and soul searching which ultimately anchors the good parts of the film.

Conclusion [6.0 out of 10]

The Rite ended up being fairly heartbreaking for me as it started off promising and ended so badly. If you want to see some strong performances and about half of a good thriller with interesting debate and don’t worry so much about a bunch of stylized nonsense for a cop out ending then you might find something to like here. Unfortunately, the film is hamstrung by the apparent limitations of the genre and the limitations of the writers to construct a worthwhile ending.