Has there been a sudden spike in real-life demonic possession that I missed? What is it about the cultural zeitgeist right now that just screams for another rip-off of The Exorcist every three months? Whatever the reason, like clockwork, The Rite will open in January. It stars "Academy Award Winner" Anthony Hopkins as some sort of exorcism professor schooling a skeptical student in the reality of devil-possession. Oh, and it's inspired by a true story. Aren't they all...
I'll admit the production values are top-notch here, and besides the hilarious animal growl at the end (listen for it!), the trailer plays pretty well. The film is directed by Mikael Håfström, whose last film, 1408, was fun in a haunted house, roller-coaster kind of way. Also, Hopkins looks like he's giving the material his all regardless of quality, and that part where the devil voice whispers into Hopkins' ear is a little creepy. Fine, great -- it still doesn't look like there's anything here that we haven't seen several times recently, and that wasn't already scarier more than 30 years ago in The Exorcist.
Verdict: Pass.