‘The Pope’s Exorcist’ ending explained: what happens to Gabriele Amorth?

Russell Crowe makes a splash in the horror genre in The Pope’s Exorcist.

Directed by Julius Avery, the supernatural horror film stars Crowe as real-life figure Father Gabriele Amorth, a Catholic priest who claimed to have performed thousands of exorcisms over his career.

A synopsis reads: “The Pope’s Exorcist follows Amorth as he investigates a young boy’s terrifying possession and ends up uncovering a centuries-old conspiracy the Vatican has desperately tried to keep hidden.”

Other cast members include Daniel Zovatto, Alex Essoe and Franco Nero.

What happens at the end of The Pope’s Exorcist?

In the film’s final act, Amorth and Father Esquibel (Zovatto) discover the demon possessing young Henry (Peter DeSouza-Feighoney) is Asmodeus, the king of hell. The demon’s aim is to possess an exorcist, so that it can release other demons and take down the Church.

During the exorcism of Henry, Amorth offers himself to be possessed by Asmodeus – falling in line with the demon’s plan. Once possessed, he then tries to take his own life to stop Asmodeus, but Amorth loses control. Esquibel then prays and helps Amorth drive away the demon, along with other demonic apparitions around them of the women they had been unable to save in the past.

Amorth and Esquibel manage to successfully complete the exorcism and survive, along with Henry. When they travel back to the Vatican, the pair are personally thanked by the Pope. When they look at the friar’s diary discovered beneath the abbey, they find the locations of other demonic sites Asmodeus had hoped to reawaken – setting up a possible sequel.

“Let’s go to hell,” Amorth remarks, in the closing line to Esquibel.

Is a sequel to The Pope’s Exorcist in the works?

As reported by Bloody Disgusting in April, early development on a sequel is believed to be underway. Crowe is also expected to return in the title role.

The original film grossed over $76million worldwide on a low budget of $18million, making it a somewhat bankable success. As such, while there’s no official announcement, it’s likely a sequel will make its way into existence.

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