THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER (2023)
There are a few legendary horror films out there that, merely mentioning their titles, still evoke shudders and chills within people. Night of the Living Dead, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Halloween, A Nightmare On Elm Street, among others. And perhaps the most infamous of them all: William Friedkin's The Exorcist from 1973. This movie traumatized a generation when it came out and continues to frighten and disturb audiences to this day. Even the freaking Academy Awards had to acknowledge how powerful this film was... and they typically hate horror movies!
Fast-forward to the last five to seven years. The new horror movie sequel/reboot craze seems to be the "requel" film. They're not remaking the original films anymore, but instead remaking the sequels. But they have to legitimize these new sequels by bringing back some actor or actors from the original film. Halloween 2018 (lovingly retitled by us here at Blood Work as "Halloween: H40" or just H40), while not the first, may have been responsible for shifting everything in this direction. Since H40 we've seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022), Scream (2022), Candyman (2021), and so on.
David Gordon Green and Danny McBride were the two responsible for the latest Halloween requel trilogy. Now the devilish duo are at it again, hoping to kick off a new requel trilogy with THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER. The mentality behind a requel may be (but not necessarily) that of Hollywood's hubris mindset of "we can remake the original and do it better" is over, but may be now, "we can remake the sequels, but do them better." Hollywood's hubris may have tempered a bit, but not much.
So how was The Exorcist: Believer?
'sigh' It wasn't as bad as the cutting reviews are saying. But it doesn't compare to the original.
THE SYNOPSIS
Widower Victor and his teenage daughter, Sorenne, are each adjusting to high school and the teenage years. Sorenne longs for a bit more independence and Victor just wants to hold onto his little girl a little longer before she grows up. Placing his trust in her, Victor acquiesces to Sorenne's plea to hangout with friends after school. The worst happens when Sorenne vanishes with a friend for three days. And when Sorenne and her friend finally reappear it becomes quickly apparent that something is wrong with them. Very wrong. Admitted to a psychiatric hospital, someone recognizes that what may be afflicting the girls isn't mental, but spiritual. With no other option left, Victor finally calls upon someone who might know a bit about what he's going through, someone who, a long time ago, needed an Exorcist.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
Full disclosure: I have a grudge against David Gordon Green and Danny McBride for Halloween Ends. I'm getting over it, but I still strongly loathe that movie and what they did to Michael Myers in it. Truthfully, I took a small amount of pleasure in seeing Green and McBride eviscerated by audiences and critics for Exorcist: Believer. I wasn't even going to see this movie until a friend asked me to go with them. Going in with a chip on my shoulder already, I'm surprised to say that I enjoyed this film more than I thought I would.
The movie is slow to start and really takes its time getting started. This did remind me of the original Exorcist in how the film is a slow build to a horrifying third act. Just like the original film, this movie felt more like a drama to begin with rather than a horror film. To me this felt like an intentional esthetic choice to match the original. Then there were a few artistic shots and sequences that felt rather pretentious, maybe to evoke an uncomfortable feeling within the audience. Ultimately it had me wondering if DGG was trying to go for an "elevated horror" approach similar to A24 films or something that might be recognized by the Academy (in my book = pretentious BS). If not for a similar esthetic to the original, this would've annoyed me. As is, it felt mostly in line with the original.
What did annoy me was Ellen Burnstyn, or rather the writing of her character. She came across with swagger, piss & vinegar, and an overall unlikable personality. She even seems to carry disdain or resentment towards the Catholic church, a moment that really pushes her away from anything resembling a likeable character. Other than for nostalgia she added nothing to the film. I'd go so far as to say that she detracted from the film, through no fault of the actress. Yeah, was it cool to see her back? Sure. But she was utterly superfluous.
The movie does have moments worth noting. There are some frightening scenes and jump scares that land. There are some instances of gruesome imagery that lingered with me too. The little scene near the end with Catherine and the demon particularly left me feeling gutted.
And then there's the climactic exorcism sequence that composes the third act. Something about this entire sequence felt slightly off. An element that the original film had was a dread of going into Regan's room every time. As an audience member, you feared going into her room. With this film, however, this final sequence didn't really possess any tension or terror. And when it did, the tension only lasted for fleeting moments. The exorcism process also came across rather strange, as if the characters and filmmakers weren't taking it seriously. Or more likely, the filmmakers weren't committing to the idea, instead experimenting with several different and opposing viewpoints. The result was a fairly muted and muddled climax. The Exorcist is a film that deals with elements of religion, God and the Devil, and faith. Without those core tenets the story possesses no power. The filmmakers almost come across as embarrassed to even entertain such "old ideas." If you're making an Exorcist movie, shouldn't someone making the film, either the writer or director, actually believe in these things?
Without going into spoilers, the exorcism doesn't go as planned, but the demon leaves anyway. This is one of my big hang-ups with the film. The demon clearly has the advantage and the exorcism isn't really working. And then the demon just leaves? What?
THE VERDICT
Overall there were too few horrific moments that really stood out. I feel most of the dramatic moments work, with a few exceptions. But the horror elements really lacked intensity. Obviously none of the actresses playing the possessed girls comes anywhere close to matching Linda Blair's unforgettable performance. But even the structuring of the scares lacks in most cases. Putting my grudge against the filmmakers aside, there just wasn't enough here that really stood out.
Overall Ranking: 5 out of 10
What always made an exorcism movie, be it The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Conjuring, The Pope's Exorcist, and the original Exorcist is a feeling of belief after watching them. At the end you step out of the film thinking, if only a little bit, that maybe there's a bit of truth to this God and Devil thing. This movie didn't have that at all. Even if your approach is through a different religion, like Shintoism in the Grudge for instance, you still come away feeling as though maybe this stuff is real or at least contains a tiny grain of truth. Whatever the religion represented, the movie needs to evoke a feeling of belief. And this one didn't. At least for me.
For more of our thoughts on current horror films and other Exorcism-like films, check out the posts below
