The Exorcist: Believer

Rating – 2/4

**SPOILERS**

         We live in a world of remakes and sequels. And I get it. Recognizable names and franchises are guaranteed to bring in the cash due to the many passionate fans and I, for one, enjoy my favorite TV and movie franchises making a return. The Exorcist is definitely one franchise that is prime material for a revival with the original and its numerous sequels and spin-offs. So, take David Gordon Green, the director of Halloween (2018) and the very successful Blumhouse Productions and The Exorcist: Believer was released.

        With those names attached, it sounds like a recipe for success, right?

        Sadly, I don’t believe the power of God compelled this one to be any good.

        Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom Jr.) raises his daughter Angela (Lidya Jewett) as a single father after losing his wife in a tragic earthquake in Haiti. One night, Angela and her friend Katherine (Olivia O’Neill) mysteriously go missing and when they return three days later, they’re…different. They’re vulgar, violent, and it soon turns out they’re possessed by something inhuman.

        And now, it’s a race against time before the demon fully takes over the two. Desperate to save his daughter, Victor contacts Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn), a woman who has first-hand experience in dealing with possessions and exorcisms. History really does repeat itself.

Except, it really shouldn’t have. The Exorcist: Believer is just a retread of the original movie updated to modern times, only toned down. It’s not as disturbing as the original and it’s missing the shock value that stuck with audiences and ultimately led to the influential icon that it is today. The projectile vomiting, the demonic swearing, the gore, and the exorcism doesn’t have the effect it did because it’s not new anymore.

Girls get possessed. Seen it.

People regain their faith. Seen it. And not just in horror movies.

The demon is driven out at the cost of someone’s life. Seen it.

Just like the original movie. Same plot points. Same behavior from the girls. Same exorcism.

And can we talk about Chris’s role, or lack of. She appears briefly, talks about her experiences, tries to help, but gets her eyes gouged out and then plays no further part in the story, except to reunite with Regan (Linda Blair). What was the point of having her character? Oh wait! I know! Simple name recognition to boost interest. What a waste!

And that’s the word that describes this movie: wasted.

It wasted an opportunity to use its original stars effectively instead of glorified cameos. It wasted the chance to have a potential social message about religion (if that’s your thing). One girl is black and atheist, the other is white and a devout Christian. Plenty of opportunity in that, whether it’d be a culture clash or a racial issue. And it wasted an opportunity to explore the lore of The Exorcist world fully. More about the demon that possesses the girls would’ve been a start. Apparently, it was Lamashtu, the enemy of Pazuzu who targets mothers.

I had to look that up.

To this film’s credit, the performances of its two lead actresses were at least adequate and did manage to make the movie at least somewhat scary. They’re still the violent and demented children one can expect from the franchise and it’s hard not to feel sorry for their families and everything they have to go through. The movie also has a decent enough atmosphere of tension and desperation and the level of fear is still palpable from the adults. Just imagine if it was your child.

I just wanted more.

To be clear, it’s not a bad movie by any means nor is it incompetently made, but it adds nothing new. While it still has the same tone as the original, it never commits to what it truly offers. Besides being wasted, it’s more of a trailer of what’s to come. The Exorcist: Believer was planned to be the first film in a new trilogy of sequels. Not a good way to start out, I’d say. Hopefully, they can do the franchise justice, if they even come out at all.

It doesn’t suck cocks in Hell, but it’s not exactly welcome in Heaven either.

Bonus: Hey Swifties! Did you know that this movie’s release date was moved up one week to avoid competition with Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour? I guess Taylor Swift has the power to exorcise demons!