A very fun and spooky thriller movie is airing on TV tonight

Starring an Oscar winner, the film was partly shot in Ireland and would make for a great pre-Halloween watch.

Directed by Julius Avery (Overlord), the film sees Crowe play Father Gabriele Amorth, a real-life Italian Catholic priest who served as the Chief Exorcist of the Vatican.

Before the priest died in 2016, he claimed to have performed tens of thousands of exorcisms throughout his life.

Shot partly in Dublin and Limerick, The Pope's Exorcist is inspired - very loosely! - by Amorth's actual files.

The plot synopsis reads: "Father Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican, investigates a young boy’s terrifying possession and ends up uncovering a centuries-old conspiracy the Vatican has desperately tried to keep hidden."

Also starring Alex Essoe (Midnight Mass), Daniel Zovatto (Woman of the Hour), and Franco Nero (Django), The Pope's Exorcist winds up being a lot funner than the typical horror inspired by director William Friedkin's 1973 classic, The Exorcist.

This is mainly down to Crowe's very likeable and warm performance as Amorth, depicted in the movie as a scooter-riding, renegade churchman with a great sense of humour.

That said, the film also benefits from a solid supporting cast, a pleasingly bonkers plot, and some tense and well-staged demon versus priest showdowns.

At the time of The Pope's Exorcist's release, JOE interviewed Crowe for the movie.

When we asked the actor if he had any spooky experiences while making the film in Ireland, he told us:

"There was one little moment but I put it down to other things. We arrived back from shooting down in Limerick to the place we were living in on the coast there outside of Dublin, and there was a dead bird in the doorway of the house that we were living in."

However, Crowe believed there was a logical explanation for the discovery, adding:

"Being an old bushy, I just sort of put two and two together and realised that there must be some creature around there who had noticed that we weren't there and had proffered the dead bird as a welcome home gift.

"I think with a lot of these things, it really depends on what you're prepared to take in and whether or not you can remain objective and see these things and understand these things and still stop yourself from sliding into the rabbit hole with that thought process."

The Pope's Exorcist is airing on Channel 4 tonight at 9pm. It will also be available to stream on the channel's website after this.

Here are the other movies airing on TV tonight:

A Quiet Place - RTÉ2 - 9pm

This brilliant horror thriller, which spawned a series of films, revolves around a family (led by Emily Blunt and John Krasinski) trying to survive in a world invaded by blind creatures that hunt via sound.

The Lost City - Film4 - 9pm

After a writer of romantic adventure fiction (Sandra Bullock) is kidnapped, her cover model (Channing Tatum) - who has long harboured a crush for her - arranges a rescue mission.

A very funny comedy with a great extended cameo from Brad Pitt.

Zombieland - Comedy Central - 9pm

The fun zom-rom-com starring Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson.

Rambo / Daylight - Legend - 9pm / 10.55pm

A Sylvester Stallone double bill.

Bridget Jones's Diary - Sky Showcase - 9.20pm

The beloved Renée Zellweger-led rom-com that launched a franchise.

Inside I'm Dancing - TG4 - 9.50pm

The Irish comedy-drama that gave future Hollywood star James McAvoy one of his first lead movie roles.

The Last Stand - Channel 4 - 11pm

Arnold Schwarzenegger headlines this very fun 2013 action flick about a tough, small-town sheriff in the US who must stop a dangerous drug lord from escaping to Mexico in a modified sports car.

The Shape of Water - Film4 - 11.15pm

An Oscar Best Picture winner, this gorgeous romantic fantasy film centres on a lonely janitor (Sally Hawkins) working at a top-secret US research facility in the ’60s who falls in love with an amphibious creature (Doug Jones) being held in captivity.

My Left Foot - RTÉ2 - 10.35pm

Daniel Day-Lewis won the first of his three Oscars for this Irish biographical drama about writer and painter Christy Brown.

20 Feet From Stardom - TG4 - 11.45pm

This Oscar-winning documentary about the behind-the-scenes experiences of backup singers has a 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes.