The Exorcist: Believer Review
Here we are with the sixth entry into the Exorcist franchise. Yes, sixth. Did you know there were now six entries? I only knew because I decided to watch the second and third before going to see this new one and saw there were two more and I said; “I’m good.”
David Gordon Green is back with another horror legacy sequel. This time he made a direct sequel to William Friedkin’s masterpiece The Exorcist. I will warn you right now, I vehemently disliked this film and this will be a scathing review spoilers abound.
First off, David Gordon Green should be stopped from making any more legacy horror sequels. Unfortunately, we are cursed with two more in the works. The Exorcist: Deceiver is slated to be released in 2025.
I thought his Halloween Legacy sequel and two subsequent sequels got progressively worse. Halloween (2018) was decent, but Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends were bad.
However, his new film is worse than either of those. The production issues were prevalent, none more so than Ellen Burstyn walking with a cane in one scene and the next scene walking perfectly fine.
It felt like there was another direction this film and Ellen’s story was supposed to go and it must not’ve worked out, however, this is the least of the film’s problems.
If you don’t want spoilers I’d stop reading now.
First, the film begins in Haiti as we see a woman receiving a blessing on her unborn child. Then an earthquake happens forcing the father (Leslie Odom Jr.) to make a choice between saving his wife or unborn child.
Generally, using a real-life tragedy as a plot device in a film usually comes off as insensitive and this film is no exception. Whether or not this is supposed to be that specific earthquake, it reminds you that it actually happened. Just have it take place in another country. So, already this film starts off on the wrong foot.
There are several scenes that feel like they were not scripted. Instead, Green told the actors the situation and said action. At times there is too little dialogue, or people do not act like any kind of normal person.
The film is flat. The scares don’t work, the final exorcist plays like a final boss battle in an MCU film, which caused my eyes to gloss over. Even if this film was not related to the 1973 Exorcist, it’d still be a nothing film.
Speaking of being related to Friedkin’s classic, this film is barely attached. Even less so than The Exorcist III, which was never meant to be an Exorcist sequel.
Ellen’s Chris MacNeil is brought in when Leslie Odom’s neighbor, played by the underused Ann Dowd, gives him Chris’ book and tells him to look her up for help.
Halfway through the film, it feels like Chris is gearing up to defeat the demon, but she is immediately sidelined in the best sequence in the film. It’s obvious that this should’ve been the climax.
It’s not and for the last hour of the film, Chris is forced to sit in a hospital bed with bandages over her eyes after her fight with the demon. This leads to my biggest issue with the film.
The exorcism somewhat works and Leslie Odom’s daughter gets to go back to her normal life. Then the film cuts back to Chris sitting in the hospital and someone walks into her room.
It’s her daughter Regan (it was stated earlier that they haven’t seen each other in many years). They hug and the movie ends. This film really tries to end on an unearned emotional moment. It’s an infuriating ending.
Not only is this film boring, but its use of a real-life tragedy and forced emotional manipulation takes it from a meh film to a bad one. There is nothing i can recommend about this film.
1.5/5 Stars
