The Exorcist: Believer (2023)

​"The Exorcist: Believer" stars Leslie Odom Jr., Lidya Jewett, Olivia O'Neill, Jennifer Nettles, Norbert Leo Butz, Ann Dowd, and Ellen Burstyn. Released on October 6, 2023, the film has the parents confronting a nefarious entity possessing their daughters.

The film was directed by David Gordon Green, who also directed films such as "Undertow", "Pineapple Express", "The Sitter", "Our Brand Is Crisis", and 2018's "Halloween". It is the sixth installment in the "Exorcist" franchise and a direct sequel to 1973's "The Exorcist". You guys probably haven't heard, but I'm continuing to watch plenty of scary-as-hell movies that would either give me nightmares or bore me to sleep with its cheapness. Of course, what better way to continue the creepiest holiday of the year than with David Gordon Green's latest attempt at reviving a classic horror gem? The filmmaker brought Michael Myers back to life to confront Jamie Lee Curtis with suitable results. Now, he's bringing back another nefarious presence that's been terrorizing audiences and religious folks for fifty years.

"The Exorcist" is a horror masterpiece that inspired many other movies involving demon possessions for years to come. While most of these horror films were pretty terrifying, they didn't come close to matching the ever-lasting impact the late William Friedkin delivered from a girl possessed by the demon. That includes the sequels and prequels spawned by the classic, especially the infamous "Exorcist II" in 1977. Sixteen years after the release of "Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist", the horror franchise returns to remind us of the demonic terror that haunts us during the night, but with the "Halloween 2018" treatment. Does it successfully pave the way for a new supposed trilogy akin to 2018's "Halloween", or make us want to compel it back to Hell? Let's find out.

The story follows Victor Fielding (Odom Jr.), a photographer raising his daughter, Angela (Jewett). He also recently lost faith in God following a tragedy that resulted in the death of his wife, Sorenne (Tracey Graves). One day, Victor receives word that Angela and her Baptist best friend Katherine (O'Neill) are missing in the woods, resulting in him attempting to find them. He eventually finds them, only to later realize that the girls' recent behaviors are anything but ordinary. Victor and Katherine's parents, Miranda (Nettles) and Tony (Butz), later discover that Angela and Katherine have brought a demon with them while attempting to perform a ritual, resulting in them being possessed. With the help of Chris MacNeil (Burstyn), an author with a previous experience with demon possession, Victor must unite the community to exorcise the nefarious demon out of the girls before they become trapped in Hell forever.

Like my experiences with the other horror franchises like "Saw" and "Halloween", I haven't watched much of the "Exorcist" films that catapulted countless numbers of demon possession movies. The only installment I've watched was the original "Exorcist", which I reviewed three years ago. The other sequels, not so much. Thankfully, it was for the best, as "The Exorcist" remains a profoundly unsettling and well-crafted experience that's both influential and downright terrifying. Without watching the follow-ups, I feel those movies don't live up to the lofty expectations set by the horror masterpiece. The other exorcism movies inspired by it are also hit-and-miss, depending on people's tastes. So, you can say that I'm experienced enough to check out "Believer" despite the terrible reviews it's receiving so far. Unfortunately, I wasn't experienced enough to see how believable those reviews were.

"The Exorcist: Believer" is another horror follow-up that takes the "legacy sequel" route by continuing the original film's story, uniting the old characters with fresh blood, and making the previous sequels nonexistent. 2018's "Halloween" went down this similar route with solid results before the diminishing sequels. Of course, that includes one of Jaime Lee Curtis's best performances of her career and Gordon's attempt to provide character-driven stories amid the frights and kills. "Believer" offers the exact blueprint regarding the direction, but also has two girls being possessed instead of one and limits Ellen Burstyn's Chris as a side character. Of course, "Halloween" is a slasher film while "Exorcist" is described as supernatural horror, so comparing the two is like comparing a leopard to a jaguar. They're the same species but with different skins. However, I would say that one is more interesting and well-handled than the other.

To give credit where credit is due, David Gordon Green has shown some effort in taking the franchise back to the original's roots regarding his direction and script. Both "Exorcist" and "Believer" showcased the grounded realism of people's fear of the unknown, which is the evil within their religion. Not only that, but they also display its theme of faith and hope amid uncertainty and despair caused by the demons. Those themes reside in Victor's arc, which sees him losing faith in the Lord after choosing to save Angela instead of his wife. Amid the demon possession fiasco, Victor is on his path to recover his belief in God to save Angela. The presentation also attempts to recapture the original's bleak and unsettling style and focus on showcasing disturbing and unnerving imagery instead of jump scares and massive amounts of gore.

"Believer" definitely showed promise in what it's trying to accomplish. Sadly, as the movie progresses, it starts losing its sense of self, allowing its demons to put it on cruise control. What we got instead is a bland, inconsistent, and unrewarding "legacy horror sequel" that wasted the potential Green started with 2018's "Halloween" regarding his vision. Regarding the story, there's nothing in "Believer" that we haven't seen before, serving as a carbon copy of any other demon possession movies inspired by the original. While its attempt at providing characters over frights is admirable, they don't stand out as much to emphasize its emotional themes and conflicts, making the film feel as preachy as a children's religious television special. This is due to the movie's screenplay, which has the makings of a tolerable sequel yet falls short of its bold choices, commentary, and characters.

As mentioned earlier, David Gordon Green did all right with his presentation. It captured the unsettledness of witnessing demon possession like "The Exorcist" regarding its editing choices and sound effects. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite match what the late William Friedkin accomplished in the 1973 classic. It's disturbing in specific scenes, but they don't stick to my mind like glue in the way "The Exorcist" did. One of those reasons is the tension and scares, or lack thereof. "Believer" does get a couple of points for not bombarding us with its jump scares, but they're not enough to keep the movie from being dull and lifeless. Then, there's the movie's pacing, which had difficulty mixing the "elevated horror" method with traditional horror. In other words, the pacing didn't do much to keep my attention on its by-the-numbers story.

As for the film's cast, they did okay with their performances, which were slightly enough to maintain my attention. Leslie Odom Jr. has a pretty good filmography under his belt, including the musical "Hamilton" and "One Night in Miami…". So, it's pretty surprising to see how his role as Victor wasn't as compelling as his previous ones. I'm sure that Odom Jr. is a good actor, but the direction given to him for his performance should be considered a sin. It's as lifeless as Victor himself. Ellen Burstyn also did all right as Chris MacNeil despite her limited screen time. I would also say that the one moment at the end involving Chris was pretty sweet regarding her arc. Lidya Jewett and Olivia O'Neill attempted to recapture Linda Blair's iconic performance from the original regarding their roles as Angela and Katherine, respectively. Their efforts were commendable but far from memorable.

Overall, "The Exorcist: Believer" fails to make a believer out of me. Its efforts in recapturing the original's impactful presentation are admittedly palpable. Sadly, its good deed was swiftly overshadowed by the sin of being a bland and inferior successor to the horror classic. The cast was hit-and-miss in their roles, and it was well-shot in specific sequences, but they're not believable enough to compel the demons out of its formulaic plot, weak screenplay, uneven pacing, and dull scares. This is a disappointing and troubling start to David Gordon Green's planned "Exorcist" trilogy that'll hopefully get fixed in the next chapter. If not, the demons won't be the only things that will haunt the director for years.

D-