After his time in the Mexican pop group, RBD, Alfonso Herrera (or also known as Poncho) dedicated his career to acting instead of music like his fellow bandmates. This fall season, Fox TV premiered a reboot of the popular horror movie The Exorcist (1973) for television. Alfonso was cast in the title role of Father Tomas Ortega. This is a huge break for the Mexican actor. It is possible that this show will open the door to a new world for him.
The television series began just two weeks ago but didn’t come bursting out of the gates with the ratings the network hoped. The second week’s numbers were slightly better. I hope that the numbers continue to climb to keep the show going.
The series is off to a slow start as we find out a lot of backstories of the characters. Alfonso, being the main character, has a lot of screen time for RBD fans. His character is approached by the mother of the Rance family, played by Geena Davis. She thinks her older daughter is possessed due to the fact that she is a loner and won’t come out of her room. In the first episode, Father Tomas (Herrera) finds out that the child that is possessed is the younger daughter. Because of this, he seeks out Father Marcus (Ben Daniels) for guidance in performing an exorcism.
Within the second episode, Father Marcus discovers that the demon is possessing more than one person in the town where Father Tomas’s church is located.
For horror fans, that this television show is geared to, the show might be a little too slow. Depending on how they progress in the show, it might take many episodes before they get to a full-on possession. The premise of the film doesn’t seem like it will translate to television easily. The film was considered one of the scariest films of the ’70s. Based on the theme, I feel that the show would have been better off on FX or a cable network that has a little more freedom. Primetime television on a public network won’t allow what is needed to even come close to what the film was able to give.
It already showed in the second episode when the young possessed girl was “feeling herself up” and it basically only shows her hugged herself. In a scene like this, one could tell that it was toned down for primetime.
Alfonso Herrera does a great a Father Tomas and I am so glad that his career as an actor allowed him the recognition to grab such a prominent role. I have high hopes for the show and am rooting for success so we can see more of Alfonso each week.
Since that day, I have been study Latin pop and rock music and have become a Latin pop music historian through the publishing of articles, fanzine, and websites. My goal is to teach people about Latin pop music and the history behind it with my website, Siempre En Domingo.
- REVIEW: Los Claxons – Caminando En Fuego (2022) - November 6, 2022
- Review: Airbag – Siempre Tropical (2022) - November 6, 2022
- Debut: Thalia – Psycho Bitch - November 6, 2022