There’s a lot of talk surrounding Al Pacino’s latest movie, The Ritual. The supernatural horror has taken a heavy beating from critics, debuting with a shocking 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film follows priests Theophilus Riesinger (Pacino) and Joseph Steiger (Dan Stevens) as they attempt a series of complicated exorcisms on a young woman, Emma Schmidt (Abigail Cowen).
Pacino’s character is a real-world figure. The German-American Capuchin friar and Roman Catholic priest became a famous exorcist in America due to the highly publicized possession case of Anna Ecklund in 1928. The priest allegedly performed a 23-day exorcism on the woman, after which she cried, “My Jesus! Mercy! Praised be Jesus Christ!”
- Release Date
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June 6, 2025
- Runtime
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98 Minutes
- Director
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David Midell
- Writers
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David Midell, Enrico Natale
- Producers
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Andrew Stevens, Enrico Natale, Mitchell Welch, Ross Kagan Marks
Most critics have rubbished the movie, describing it as nothing but a cheap ripoff of The Exorcist. Well, most of the actor’s fans would disagree. But if you are among the disappointed ones and would love to watch proper horror movies and thrillers starring Al Pacino, create time for the following 10 movies.
10
‘Cruising’ (1980)
A serial killer is targeting gay men in Cruising, so someone has to go undercover in the city’s S&M joints to stop him. Many homophobic police officers decline the assignment, but Detective Steve Burns (Al Pacino) takes the case, seeing it as a way to advance his career. From there, things escalate rapidly.
Terror in the Leather Scene
Here, director William Friedkin foregoes the brutal precision of his overt crime thrillers for a kitschy murder story with a more plaintive tone about discrimination, love, loss, and ambition. And Al Pacino handles his undercover cop role with understated ease. He ought to have been awarded a few trophies for his work, but award organizations looked away. Even better, Cruising has one of the best open-ended conclusions in cinema history.
9
‘People I Know’ (2002)
- Release Date
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November 21, 2002
- Runtime
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100 minutes
- Director
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Daniel Algrant
- Writers
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Jon Robin Baitz
- Producers
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Michael Nozik
People I Know stars Al Pacino as Eli Wurman, a weary New York publicist experiencing a career slump. Soon, he is tasked with managing a major scandal involving a drug-addicted television actress linked to a powerful politician, a job that takes him on a journey of conspiracy and rediscovery.
Biting More than He Can Chew
Bathed in soft light, all the movie’s scenes are emotionally evocative, with Pacino emerging as calmer than usual and Kim Basinger also shining in her role as Eli’s sister-in-law turned lover. Having directed several episodes of Sex and the City, Daniel Algrant knows how to take all the best shots of buildings as well as interior ones. His magic is very much on display here. Overall, this deeply engrossing opus is a paean to the complicated nature of the celebrity and political landscapes..
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8
‘Righteous Kill’ (2008)
Al Pacino and Robert De Niro star in Righteous Kill as veteran NYPD lawmen Turk and Rooster, investigating a series of Dexter-style murders targeting criminals who escaped justice. The “Poetry Boy Killer” has a habit of leaving cryptic poems at each crime scene, irking the police even further. But who are they? Big twist: it’s one of the two protagonists is the killer.
Who is the Killer?
This slick, terrifying, and stylish crime thriller is the least-talked-about of De Niro and Al Pacino’s collaborations, yet it’s unbelievably entertaining. The film immediately draws you into its dark, labyrinthine, and nihilistic orbit with tough-guy dialogue and crisp, haunting cinematography. Director Jon Avnet also employs slightly unconventional editing techniques to keep the twisted tale off balance. De Niro and Pacino don’t disappoint either.
7
‘The Son of No One’ (2011)
Rookie NYPD officer Jonathan “Milk” White (Channing Tatum) has been assigned to a precinct in his old Queens neighborhood. But he has a dark secret. When he was younger, he killed a few junkies and Detective Charles Stanford (Al Pacino), his late father’s partner, helped cover him out. Soon, someone threatens to expose him. How will things unfold in The Son of No One?
Burying All Secrets
Here, noted composer Jonathan Elias’ ethereal, unnerving score proves very effective in heightening the thriller’s feverish vibe. The performances by the lead actors also deliver the goods. Tatum ably transforms his Milk from frightened rookie to Stoic lawman, and Pacino’s Stanford is a perfect, sleazy father figure. Numerous other stars also help boost the film’s quality. Ray Liotta, Katie Holmes, and Tracy Morgan are all present.
6
‘The Recruit’ (2002)
- Release Date
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January 31, 2003
- Runtime
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115 minutes
- Director
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Roger Donaldson
- Writers
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Kurt Wimmer, Mitch Glazer
- Producers
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Gary Barber, Jeff Apple, Jonathan Glickman, Ric Kidney
In The Recruit, James Clayton (Collin Farrell), a nonlinear cryptography student at MIT, gets recruited by CIA veteran Walter Burke (Al Pacino), after creating a complex surveillance program capable of enslaving any computer’s audiovisual hardware. He is then tasked with finding a mole within the agency.
Better than the Series of the Same Name
Director Roger Donaldson ought to be lauded for not dwelling on gruesome violence. The spy lingo is rather bare, too, but it’s all in the service of an anti-employee-oppression allegory that will appeal to anyone who has ever had a headache-inducing job. The Recruit also happens to be one of the spy thrillers recommended by real CIA agents. A report from Studies in Intelligence reads: “Even though everyone in the Agency believes the movie is ridiculous, it is entertaining”, and all the covert service trainees watched it on the bus going into training” for comic relief.”
5
’88 Minutes’ (2007)
- Release Date
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February 14, 2007
- Runtime
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108 minutes
- Director
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Jon Avnet
-
-
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Leelee Sobieski
Lauren Douglas
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Amy Brenneman
Shelly Barnes
In 88 Minutes, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Jack Gramm (Al Pacino) has built a name for himself as one of the most sought-after profilers in America. Thanks to him, many criminals have been cuffed, including serial killer Jon Forster (Neal McDonough), aka “The Seattle Slayer.” But on the eve of Forster’s execution, one of Gramm’s students gets brutally murdered in a vicious copycat crime, and Gramm himself is told he has 88 minutes to live. And so begins a chaotic, often frightening adventure.
Out of Time
This dark thriller combines elements of real-world serial killer reports, then pours in a heady dose of professional intrigue. What’s the deal about the time? Why exactly 88 minutes? You’ll have plenty of fun finding out. Movies like these also need plenty of twists, and there’s plenty to get your head spinning in 88 Minutes. Pacino doesn’t give his best performance, but the other actors are outstanding.
4
‘City Hall’ (1996)
- Release Date
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February 16, 1996
- Runtime
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111 minutes
- Director
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Harold Becker
-
-
John Cusack
Kevin Calhoun
-
Bridget Fonda
Marybeth Cogan
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City Hall centers on New York City Mayor John Pappas (Al Pacino) and his deputy, Kevin Calhoun (John Cusack). When a young boy gets killed during a shootout involving a police officer and a mob-associated drug dealer, Calhoun begins digging into the matter, only to find evidence that implicates the mayor himself. What will he do?
Politics is a Dirty Game
Decadent, detailed, and unflinching in its portrait of the moral depravity within political circles, City Hall fires from all angles. It might not be so well remembered today if it weren’t for Pacino’s amoral charm. Cusack impresses too, as the man trying to do good. They even managed to cast a real politician. Fritz Hollings, the then U.S. senator from South Carolina, plays Senator Marquand.
3
‘Insomnia’ (2002)
Insomnia follows veteran LAPD detective Will Dormer (Al Pacino), sent to a tiny Alaskan town to look into the murder of a teenage girl. While at it, he accidentally shoots his partner, and, in a state of panic, he covers it up. Now, how will he handle the guilt and the frequent taunts by the elusive killer, Walter Finch (Robin Williams)?
No Heroes in this Story
Pacino and Williams are amazing, but most of the praise belongs to Nolan, who proved to the world that he was ready to become the next big thing in Hollywood. And he sure achieved his dreams. Thanks to the sweeping views and storytelling techniques witnessed here, studios were convinced that Nolan needed to take on bigger projects. Don’t sleep on Insomnia. It’s a haunting take on rectitude.
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2
‘The Insider’ (1999)
The Insider is the biographical account of an exposé on Big Tobacco by former executive Jeffrey Wigand (played by Russell Crowe). In the film, investigative journalist Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) helps Wigand blow the whistle via a 60 Minutes interview, but there’ll be consequences.
Exposing the Rot
This breathlessly exciting biopic is one of the best whistleblower pictures ever made, with the characters’ personal lives adding an extra jolt of tension. Having worked with Pacino before in Heat, director Michael Mann manages to bring out the best in him once again, though it’s Crowe who outshines everyone else. Consequently, he earned himself an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
1
‘The Devil’s Advocate’ (1997)
Based on Andrew Neiderman’s 1990 novel of the same name, The Devil’s Advocate follows Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reaves), a young Florida attorney who has never lost a case. He soon accepts a job offer from a major New York City law firm, only for his wife to become haunted by frightening visions. Kevin then makes a shocking discovery: the firm’s owner, John Milton (Al Pacino), is actually Satan in a human body.
The Devil’s Advocate… Literally
The Devil’s Advocate is a gripping film in every way, and neither the peerless on-location shooting nor the beautiful score obscures the terrific acting from the two lead actors. Pacino, in particular, is disturbingly magnetic. Watch out for his memorable monologue where he insists that the Devil is more caring than God because he is always right here on Earth interacting with humans and feeling their emotions, whereas his archenemy prefers to keep a distance.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
