The Exorcism: Russell Crowe horror film gets an R rating; the trailer drops tomorrow

A couple days ago, Vertical announced that they will be giving the horror film The Exorcism (formerly known as The Georgetown Project), which stars Russell Crowe, a North American theatrical release on June 7th, with the streaming rights going to Shudder. Now the Motion Picture Association ratings board has revealed that they have given The Exorcism an R rating – and we’ve learned that the film’s trailer will be dropping online tomorrow!

The Exorcism has been rated R for language, some violent content, sexual references and brief drug use. This isn’t the first time the movie has been given an R rating, as it was previously given an R for the exact same reasons last June, when it was still going by the title The Georgetown Project.

Coming our way from Miramax, producer Kevin Williamson, and Outerbanks Entertainment, The Exorcism sees Crowe taking on the role of Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play.

Crowe is joined in the cast by Ryan Simpkins (Fear Street Part Two – 1978), Sam Worthington (Avatar: The Way of Water), Chloe Bailey (Praise This), Adam Goldberg (The Equalizer), David Hyde Pierce (Frasier), Samantha Mathis (Broken Arrow), Tracey Bonner (Creepshow), and Adrian Pasdar (Near Dark).

Joshua John Miller directed the film from a screenplay he wrote with M.A. Fortin. The duo previously wrote The Final Girls and developed the USA television series Queen of the South. A former actor with several horror credits to his name (including Near Dark), Joshua John Miller also happens to be the son of Jason Miller, who played Father Karras in The Exorcist, a supernatural horror film that was partly filmed in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. So it’s interesting to see that elements of this story reflect Miller’s own life. The Final Girls was also about the child of a popular genre star.

Williamson produced The Exorcism with Ben Fast and Bill Block. Padraic McKinley, Scott Putman, Andrew Golov, and Thom Zadra serve as executive producers.

Crowe recently played real-life exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth in the supernatural horror film The Pope’s Exorcist, which could turn out to be a franchise starter. He actually worked on this movie before making The Pope’s Exorcist – in fact, The Exorcism was first announced four and a half years ago. So it’s good to see that it’s finally making its way out into the world.

Are you looking forward to The Exorcism? What do you think of the reasons given for the R rating? Let us know by leaving a comment below.