The Exorcism Ending Explained

This article contains mentions of implied child sexual abuse. The following also contains spoilers for
The Exorcism
.

Summary

• Tony’s possession by a demon forces him to confront his past trauma, leading to a healing journey with his daughter.
• A theory about Father Conor’s possible connection to Tony’s past challenges viewers to question the priest’s motives.
• The Exorcism’s ending emphasizes forgiveness, acceptance, and healing as Tony confronts his demons and finds peace.

The Exorcism is Russell Crowe’s second starring vehicle featuring him in a priest’s outfit and becoming possessed by a demon at the end of the film. Unlike Crowe in The Pope’s Exorcist, though, in The Exorcism he plays an actor named Anthony “Tony” Miller, who takes on the role of a priest for an exorcism horror movie. As shooting begins for the project, Tony and his daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins) — who have a complex relationship after Tony became an alcoholic and addict as his wife was dying of cancer — begin to experience telltale signs of a demonic presence.

From filmmakers M.A. Fortin and Joshua J Miller, The Exorcism also stars Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg, Sam Worthington, and David Hyde Pierce as a complicated priest. The ending of The Exorcism sees Tony fully possessed by a demon named and confronted by Lee, her girlfriend and Tony’s co-star Blake, and Father Conor on the movie set. After failing to exorcise the demon from Tony, Father Conor tells the demon to take him instead. Once the priest is taken over, Tony is forced to kill him to destroy the demon, which carries a larger meaning than simply beating the Devil.

Is Father Conor The Same Priest Who Abused Tony As A Child?

The Identity Of Tony’s Abuser Remains A Mystery

After Father Conor has convinced the demon to possess him and leave Tony, the actor experiences flashbacks to when he was an altar boy and the faceless priest who abused him. This occurs as Tony and the possessed Father Conor stare at one another and are locked in a struggle. The scene is ambiguous and begins to imply a potential game-changing twist that is never confirmed nor explained but could leave the audience questioning whether Father Conor is the same unnamed priest who traumatized Tony when he was a child.

The likely answer is this moment was meant to signify Tony coming face-to-face with an evil being in priest’s clothing for the first time since he was a kid. Tony is forced to confront his literal demons, which acts as a turning point for Tony. He is seemingly in a far better place after the possession and destruction of the demon. Still, the fact that Father Conor is older than Tony and the identity of the latter’s abuser is never revealed leaves behind an interesting unanswered question that could explain why it felt appropriate for the priest to burn along with the demon.

Why Father Conor Let Himself Get Possessed

The Priest Makes The Ultimate Sacrifice To Save Tony

In a similar fashion, Father Conor’s reasoning for sacrificing himself and demanding the demon possess him is left open to interpretation. If the theory behind his history with Tony is accurate, Father Conor could be choosing to atone for potential irredeemable sins. Even if the theory is false, however, plenty of actions in the priest’s past could have driven him to believe self-sacrifice was the only path forward for himself and to save Tony, Lee, and Blake.

Then again, the movie makes a point of Father Conor having faith but not believing in the darkness or “paranoia” people are tempted by regarding cursed film sets and demonic entities. He’s there as a consultant and to ease everyone’s mind that the shoot will be safe. Part of his decision to take on the demon could be Father Conor taking ownership and accepting the truth since he was wrong and inadvertently led others astray by encouraging them not to believe in the possibility of something supernatural taking place.

At this moment, Father Conor proves he is better than those who twist or use religion to cause harm; he protects the flock instead and gives Tony a chance to be free from the demon’s influence and face it head-on, destroying it.

The most plausible answer, though, circles back to the beginning of The Exorcism, when Father Conor told Tony that, growing up, priests were his heroes in juxtaposition to Tony’s view of them. Part of his responsibility as a man of the cloth, a representative of a holy institution, is to reject evil. At this moment, Father Conor proves he is better than those who twist or use religion to cause harm; he protects the flock instead and gives Tony a chance to be free from the demon’s influence and face it head-on, destroying it.

Tony And Lee Are Still Mending Their Relationship

Father And Daughter Have A Long Way To Go Towards Healing

In the aftermath, the father and daughter’s relationship is slowly but surely healing. It is a good sign (for them) that they are living apart. Lee was abandoned to take care of her dying mother alone as her father succumbed to his alcoholism and addiction. Then, Lee had to care for Tony before and after his recovery in rehab. The two are staying in contact, including Lee sending her father drafts of a screenplay she’s working on. Tony and Lee are standing on their own feet and have created healthy boundaries as they heal from their respective traumas.

What Happened Between Blake and Lee?

Lee’s Love Interest Disappears At The End Of The Exorcism

Following the exorcism and Father Conor’s death, there is a time jump, allowing audiences to get a glimpse of how Tony and Lee are adjusting. Lee appears to be on a beach in California, presumably Los Angeles, sending the third draft of her screenplay to Tony as Crowe gives a voiceover. His daughter is also shown driving a car with two crosses hanging from her rear-view mirror. Blake, however, is never seen with Lee or mentioned during The Exorcism’s final sequence.

The two girls could have been forced to split up because they live in different areas or are following separate journeys as they head toward adulthood. They could also be working on a long-distance relationship. However, it would not be a shock if Blake had to put the terrifying events behind her by moving on completely from both Lee and Tony. The film does not confirm if Blake is still in the picture or if she’s attempting to recover from her experience and marking Lee’s first romantic heartbreak.

The Exorcism Continues The Horror Trend Of Pain Attracting Evil

Possession Is An Interesting Way To Learn Life Lessons

Horror movies featuring demons or the Devil as the film’s villain often depict a vulnerable or emotionally scarred character being taken over by the entity. Usually, the experience of being possessed and forced to suffer or to act violently towards others ends with the character experiencing a life-changing event that actually helps them to start healing from those scars or to move on from them.

Audiences can look forward to Russell Crowe appearing in another demonic horror movie since he will likely return as Father Gabriele Amorth in

The Pope’s Exorcist 2

.

The trope continues in The Exorcism, as Tony’s experience of being possessed by the demon Molech and destroying him allows him to confront a past that haunts him. Tony’s life and relationship with his daughter are ultimately better than ever, thanks to what they went through together and how they both learned from it.

The Real Meaning Of The Exorcism’s Ending

Tony Is Able To Forgive Himself And Accept Forgiveness

The ending of The Exorcism is about faith, forgiveness, and recovering from trauma. Tony accepts the church back into his life and is able to verbalize in confession (which he seemingly attends daily now) what was done to him as a child. He also acknowledges not fully understanding what forgiveness means after everything he’s done and the pain he caused when he was drinking and doing drugs. Still, he does feel forgiven by God and by Lee, who finally starts referring to him as Dad instead of Tony.

Co-writer and director Joshua J Miller makes a cameo in
The Exorcism
as FX Guy. Miller and partner M.A. Fortin are also the filmmakers behind the 2015 horror comedy
The Final Girls
.

As he recovers and takes responsibility for the harm he caused in the past, Tony is confronting the abuse he suffered instead of burying it. Addressing his oldest and deepest wounds is the only way he can truly heal. For Tony, that also means no longer fearing the religious institution he grew up in and having it present in his life as something peaceful instead of painful.