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  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies
  3. Horror Movies

Netflix's new #1 movie is one of 2023's most divisive horror films

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By Emily Garbutt published 22 August 2023

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Russell Crowe in The Pope's Exorcist
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The Pope's Exorcist, one the year's most divisive horror releases, is the new number one movie on Netflix in the US.

The supernatural flick stars Russell Crowe as Father Gabriele Amorth, the Pope's personal exorcist, as he investigates the possession of a child, uncovers a conspiracy in the Vatican, and rides his Vespa around Italy. In the platform's top 10, the movie is ahead of new Netflix original Heart of Stone, starring Gal Gadot, and the streamer's new animated family movie The Monkey King. 

The Pope's Exorcist divided critics and viewers when it was released in April, scoring 47% on Rotten Tomatoes with a mixed batch of reviews. Rolling Stone wrote that "The Pope’s Exorcist will certainly never go down as a classic of the genre, but it’s better than it has any reason to be," but Screen Daily remarked that "the fact that everyone involved thought this was a good idea... is somehow far more terrifying than anything onscreen."

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However, the audience score on the review aggregator site is a much healthier 81%, and viewers have also taken to Twitter to share their enjoyment of the movie. "Watching the Pope’s Exorcist. Good flick. I’ll nod towards a good tale of demonic possession, however impossible to suspend disbelief that Russell Crowe rode a Vespa 20 hours from Rome to Castile," wrote one Twitter user. "All this time, I thought THE POPE’S EXORCIST was a horror-comedy. Was not expecting an actually serious possession movie," commented another.

The Pope's Exorcist is streaming now on Netflix in the US. For more viewing inspiration, fill out your watch list with our picks of the other best Netflix horror movies to add to your watch list. 

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Emily Garbutt is a former Entertainment Writer at GamesRadar+ who covered everything film and TV-related. Emily helped bring you all the latest news, features, and reviews, and helmed a Big Screen Spotlight column. She has previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting a NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism, and is now a freelance writer.

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