Joshua John Miller's The Exorcism , which he co-wrote with partner M.A. Fortin, is not your average summer scare-'em-up.
Instead, it's a spiky subversion of the possession subgenre, a talky psychological drama starring Russell Crowe as a washed-up actor attempting to make a comeback with a remake of an unnamed exorcism movie — that sure sounds a lot like The Exorcist . Anthony Miller (Crowe) is also trying to reconnect with his queer teen daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins). But can Lee forgive him when he seems to be off the wagon yet again? Or is there something far more devilish at work here? In an interview with Mashable, Fortin and Miller shared about their battle to keep The Exorcism queer, the personal origins that inspired the film, and why they don't believe in the curse of The Exorcist .
Exorcism stories are a dime a dozen these days, from the endless Exorcist sequels to Evil' s recurring possession plotlines. But if there's a filmmaker who could put a unique spin on the subgenre, it's director Joshua John Miller, who has been steeping in cult cinema since he was in utero. Miller's father was Jason Miller, who made a splash as Father Karras in The Exorcist and regaled his young son with tales from the set.
His mother, Susan Bernard, was a B-movie icon, with starring roles in films like the seminal Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and fans that include Quentin Tarantino. While Bernard inspired Miller and Fortin's script for 2015's The Final Girls , a deliciously nostalgia-s.
