Russell Crowe hasn't often appeared in horror movies, yet after the failure of his 2017 remake, The Mummy, his recent exorcism movies have partly made up for his horror losses. Crowe's acting career first began in 1990 when he featured in the Australian drama, Prisoners of the Sun. In the intervening years, Crowe has led some truly iconic films, from Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind to Robin Hood and Les Misérables. Though Crowe has certainly proved his chops as a dramatic actor, one genre he has not yet mastered is the horror movie, though this may be changing.

The most notable horror entry in Crowe's career is The Mummy. This 2017 movie is a reboot of the original 1932 Mummy franchise, and was meant to be a part of Universal's Dark Universe, which included remakes of Universal's classic monster movies. However, The Mummy did not perform nearly as well as hoped. Though the movie grossed around $410 million, critics agreed that the film lacked any sense of fun, and merely borrowed from better horror movies. Fortunately though, Crowe's horror journey has not ended there.

Russell Crowe Has Starred In Two Proper Horror Movies Since The Mummy’s Failure

Crowe's Exorcist Movies Are A Solid Start

After the failure of The Mummy, it would have made sense for Crowe to abandon horror completely, yet the actor has made a surprising turn in the past few years by starring in two more horror movies. The Pope's Exorcist and just one year later, he appeared in The Exorcism. Although The Exorcism was panned, with a 28% on Rotten Tomatoes, The Pope's Exorcist showed a glimmer of hope. With a smattering of good reviews, many of which surrounded Crowe's performance, these exorcism movies have opened a door for the actor.

Despite the fact that Crowe's recent exorcism movies haven't exactly been hits, they have definitely changed the relationship between the actor and the horror genre. The Mummy was such a difficult failure considering that an entirely new franchise relied on it, and any other actor might have cut his losses and never returned to horror. Yet, Crowe has shown a marked interest in scary movies, and at the very least, The Pope's Exorcist has proven that he could have a real knack for horror if he found the right script.

Russell Crowe’s Exorcism Movies Were Very Different From His Dark Universe Role

What Horror Crowe Should Try Next

Perhaps one reason why these exorcism movies have done better than The Mummy is that Crowe plays completely different characters. In The Mummy, Crowe plays a somewhat bland version of Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, who must fight against his dark urges. Meanwhile, Crowe plays a rebellious exorcist and a traumatized actor in The Pope's Exorcist and The Exorcism respectively. Some might argue that Crowe's newer roles give him much more room to play than in The Mummy, which was criticized for its lack of originality.

Ultimately, it could be a good thing for Crowe to dive even deeper into the horror genre. The Pope's Exorcist is just a hint at what Crowe could be capable of if given a properly good movie. At this point, Crowe has a number of new movies in the works, from Marvel's Kraven the Hunter to a historical film called Nuremberg. Yet, perhaps in the future, Crowe can continue making up for the failure of The Mummy by taking on better and better horror movie roles.