Movie Review: The Rite

I’m not a big fan of horror movies, mostly because they’re mostly unintelligent dribble and sorry excuses for films that rely on cheap tricks to get some scares out of you. Once in awhile a gem comes along and The Rite is one of them.

Colin O’Donoghue stars in this movie about a boy who has lost his faith and decides to head out to priest college to fulfill his father’s wishes and to find his own faith. He encounters an exorcist , Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins) who shows him that the Devil is real.

The storyline is pretty typical, with the exception of the Father Lucas getting possessed – I’ve never seen it done in a movie before and this is where Anthony Hopkins truly shines. He didn’t even need the makeup and special effects to enhance his role – his acting as an unconventional exorcist and as a possessed man scared the shit out of me. O’Donoghue and Alice Braga played their roles decently, but Hopkins just outshone them throughout the whole movie.

The Rite doesn’t rely on cheap tricks to scare you – when you get scared, it’s because of the buildup, all the way until the scares happen. No in your face “RARRR!” moments, and that’s what I loved about the film. It’s not going to win any awards for movie of the year, but for what it’s worth, it’s one hell of a ride. I rate the Rite 7/10.