GRADE: C

Early in “The Rite,” a middle-aged priest bemoans the escalating and disconcerting lack of fresh, young blood in the ranks of the Catholic priesthood. It seems the filmmakers themselves share that sentiment, since “The Rite” plays like a two-hour Vatican recruiting video. The film is clearly designed to speak to the faithful. Millions worldwide laugh off zombies, vampires and ghosts yet are convinced demons stalk them from invisible realms. In fact, those behind this ludicrous film are counting on it.

Michael Kovak (Colin O’Donoghue) lives somewhere in Dead End, USA and, looking for a way out of the claustrophobia of his going-nowhere-fast life, decides to escape to college. Wait, that’s not right—he joins the military. No, still not right—he decides to attend seminary and become a priest despite the fact that he is very nearly an atheist. Yes, that’s it. At the end of his four years of education, Michael, still faithless, decides to shirk his priestly duties. But when the dean of his seminary threatens to make him pay back all his scholarship money, he agrees to attend a class on exorcisms being given at the Vatican. Once there, Michael is apprenticed to Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins), an unorthodox priest who makes house calls for Roman families in need of exorcisms. Michael plays the part of the skeptic, constantly challenging the establishment views. Not believing in the Devil, Father Lucas explains, will not protect you from him. Eventually, with the aid of Angeline (Alice Braga)—a journalist investigating exorcisms and apparently present to assure us Michael is a heterosexual—the young, untested doubter will participate in a Satanic showdown that will force him to decide, once and for all, what he believes.

If the story of a veteran priest and his younger assistant (currently in a crisis of faith) attempting to exorcise demons from troubled young people sounds familiar, it is the plot of the 1973 horror classic, “The Exorcist.” These days, it seems movies featuring demonic possession and religious exorcism appear at least once a year (the most recent being 2010’s “The Last Exorcism”). They’ve practically become their own genre. Unfortunately, “The Rite” doesn’t introduce anything particularly fresh or innovative.

Newcomer O’Donoghue makes a strong feature debut here opposite the scene chewing Hopkins. This is easily Hopkins’ most creepy cinematic portrayal since Hannibal Lecter. Apparently, in the world of “The Rite,” even the devout are not immune from satanic indwelling, giving Hopkins a delicious couple of minutes to unhinge himself and gobble up the scenery with a voracious, bloodcurdling appetite.

Director Mikael Håfström and screenwriter Michael Petroni have adapted Matt Baglio’s book about exorcism training into a moody, well shot thriller (it’s not truly a horror film, though it does occasionally flirt with the idea) that starts off well enough but becomes increasingly preposterous as the plot progresses (and progresses…and progresses—overlong and increasingly tedious). As an audience, we can’t help but identify with Michael’s skepticism. His repeated assertions that demonic manifestations are the result of psychological issues are so convincing, scribe Petroni doesn’t seem to have a rational explanation much less a script-ural rebuttal in return. So he cheats, introducing scenes lifted wholesale from medieval superstition—frogs, horses with bloodshot eyes, girls coughing up nails. “What’d you expect?” Father Lucas asks, “Spinning heads and pea soup?”

Directed by Mikael Håfström

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Colin O’Donoghue, Alice Braga, Ciaran Hinds, Toby Jones, Rutger Hauer

Rated PG-13 for disturbing thematic material, violence, frightening images, and language including sexual references.

Running Time: 113 minutes

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