Russell Crowe is supremely menacing in exclusive new The Exorcism clip

Russell Crowe plays a troubled actor who unravels while shooting a supernatural movie

Watch: Russell Crowe is downright terrifying in new The Exorcism clip

It seems Russell Crowe exorcism movies are like buses. You wait years for one, and then two turn up in quick succession. In UK cinemas from 21 June, The Exorcism sees the Gladiator star as Anthony Miller, a troubled actor, who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film.

It's not connected with Crowe's previous 2024 release The Pope's Exorcist. In fact, it's an entirely different beast exploring the concept of possession from a new angle and sees the Oscar-winning star at his menacing best as he falls victim to the dark side, rather than fighting it.

We're thrilled to share an exclusive clip from the film, which shows Crowe as Anthony alongside Fear Street's Ryan Simpkins as his child Lee Miller, as they come to realise all is not right with their father. Watch it above.

Russell Crow in The Exorcism. (Vertical Entertainment/Everett Collection)
Russell Crow in The Exorcism. (Vertical Entertainment/Everett Collection)

Produced by Kevin Williamson, the mastermind of the Scream slasher franchise, The Exorcism was written and directed by filmmaker Joshua John Miller, who previously enjoyed huge success with his subversive 2015 horror movie The Final Girls.

Like his previous film, The Exorcism subverts expectations by flipping the dynamics of William Friedkin's seminal adaptation of The Exorcist. Talking about the film's origin, Miller told The AU Review: "After Trump got elected in America, it just seemed like straight white men were going crazy.

"We wanted to do an exorcism movie, and we thought let’s not have it be a hysterical woman saved by a man. Why can’t we make a man possessed and be saved by two lesbians?"

In a separate interview with Comicbook, Miller explained that Crowe's appearance in two exorcism movies in the same year was a simple coincidence and not part of the actor's attempt to corner the market.

THE EXORCISM, (aka THE GEORGETOWN PROJECT), from left: Ryan Simpkins, Russell Crowe, Chloe Bailey, 2024. ph: Fred Norris / © Vertical Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection
Ryan Simpkins, Russell Crowe, Chloe Bailey in The Exorcism. (Vertical Entertainment/Everett Collection)

"In an interesting way, It kind of actually is helping The Exorcism and now people are like, 'oh, is this — wait, are they connected?'"

"But I think there's something actually awesome about, 'oh, there's a movie that's a literal straight genre movie and now there's a making of an exorcist movie?' I think there's a cool conversation to be had about that."

The Exorcism is in UK cinemas from 21 June.