The Exorcist: Believer is an American horror movie directed by David Gordon Green. The film is a sequel to the classic move, The Exorcist, and is intended to be the first film in a new trilogy based on The Exorcist franchise. A franchise that Universal Studios reportedly paid the handsome sum of $400 million to obtain. Released in cinemas on October 6th, 2023, the movie has grossed $112 million worldwide against a $30 million budget.
S P O I L E R S
Premise
When two girls disappear into the woods and return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, the father of one girl seeks out Chris MacNeil, who’s been forever altered by what happened to her daughter fifty years ago. (IMDb.com)
Bad
The Exorcist: Believer is a disaster. There are no engaging characters and the plot is ponderous and cliched. Considering the sheer number of possession movies since the release of the original film 50 years ago, this sequel struggles to provide a fresh or modern take on the franchise. In addition, there needed to be more detail provided in relation to the ritual that Angela and Catherine enacted that brought about their possession. This critical setup is brushed aside too quickly. The exorcism itself was boring and not scary at all! Also, the attempt to involve different rituals and different beliefs into the equation was a muddled mess. While we understand the thinking behind that – diversity and representation, what else! – it blurs the focus somewhat.
Good
The father-daughter dynamic is developed enough in respect of the demon attempting to use the choice made by Victor against him, in order to trick him into making a choice now. Now that twist itself was so predictable that it completely failed to land. The ending did its best to mirror the original’s sacrifice but inverted such that Catherine’s death was caused unintentionally by her father’s selfishness. At least that was thought-provoking if somewhat under-whelming.
Conclusion
The Exorcist: Believer fails to come even close to the high standards set by the original movie. Avoid!
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