The Rite is a good and very atmospheric exorcism film. Although released clearly not in a good time for this sub-genre, it still holds up well even 10 years later.
The setting is nice, the cinematography is great. It's not a demon-slasher like the more recent pieces of this sub-genre (like The Nun) and it plays more into the psychological aspect (just as the director did with 1408), this is how I like my exorcism films.
But what really makes this work for me, it's the performances. This film is carried by acting, and although most of the cast did a great job, O'Donoghue, Hauer...Hopkins stole the show. You get completely immersed in his performance, every detail, every emotion is projected through it. It is clearly one of his best if not the best roles since The Silence of the Lambs.
The story itself of course isn't perfect, and it has some elements reminiscent of the time, but when Hopkins is on screen, you just completely forget about everything else.
Personally, I think the film is way underrated on IMDB, especially if you compare the rating to more recent entries in this sub-genre.
A strong recommendation.
