Now The Exorcist: Believer is atrocious in many ways, oh so many ways, however one can’t help but feel an unfortunate and if anything unfair matter outside of the creatives on the film’s control that makes it feel all so much worse; that being of course the passing of the iconic William Friedkin, director of the original film. Not only does this overshadow this disastrous and truly lame attempt at a revitalisation of The Exorcist brand as even more shameless, but if anything it just highlights further and further the true excellence of Friedkin and also late, great William Peter Blatty’s original. ‘Original’ of course being the operative word.

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After revitalising, schlocking up and then finally simultaneously creating something new and rehashing a shoddy conclusion to his Halloween trilogy, David Gordon Green is back working with prestige legacy horror properties and has launched what has been described as the first in a whole new trilogy of Exorcist films. The Exorcist: Believer! Joy! Proclaim one and all, another legacy sequel is here? Are there new mildly interesting characters played by great actors giving average dialogue to work with? Oh yes, with Leslie Odom Jr doing fine work with a bizarre collection of scenes that build to nothing, and the wonderful Ann Dowd given an arc of faith that culminates in her concluding the movie in an awful monologue about hope and love. Are there legacy characters brought back with the promise of bags of money and a modern angle on their characters? Oh yes, with Ellen Burstyn who appears in one of the worst written scenes I’ve seen this year, in what feels at times like a cringey and painfully awkward parody of a legacy sequel, only for one of our truly best actresses of all time to stumble through a lazy sequence with our un-frightening demon. Wait, did I say ‘demon’, oh no, I’m sorry, ‘demons’, oh yes, this movie is so much better and scarier than the original, because we get two demons. That’s right. TWO f*cking demons. Oh my god! Are there hints and easter eggs to the first film? You don’t even have to wait past the first frame you lucky b*stards, cause the first frame is fighting dogs! Let me pause this cynicism and frivolity for just a moment and just openly clarify in more well written terms that Exorcist: Believer is well made trash. Gordon Green is a fine director and I do find his visual craft solid, and the film does with its cinematography and production design create a few moments of mildly effecting atmosphere. But all in all one has to just come to terms with the fact that this atrocious bottom of the ditch attempt at a reboot is mostly embarrassing and made me feel time and time again relentlessly unsatisfied. But did for me what I find the best legacy sequels do nowadays – make me rush home and rewatch the original to cleanse my palate. Rest in Peace Friedkin and Blatty, you can rest well in the knowledge that your towering masterpiece remains wholly undefeated. Not that of course I ever genuinely thought that a 2023 Gordon Green effort could even graze it.  

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A shameless, shallow and sh*te 3/10 with some visual and performance elements to take it up a few points, but an overall complete mess. A film that feels far too long yet far too rushed. A film that attempts to honour an original that it dismisses the quality and greatest strengths of time and time again. A film that in so many ways basterdized what makes the original so powerful. But even in a vacuum, one could never recommend this film bar a few moments of narrative intrigue that one could see coming miles away anyhow, prior to its painfully saccharin culmination. Great actors doing fine work in the face of awful plotting and dialogue. Gordon Green has given us a film far worse than any of his Halloween entries and I’m sure will not be helming any more on this sinking attempt at a trilogy. The film perhaps is best surmised with the comment that its only truly shocking and effecting moment simultaneously is the most disrespectful and awful dealing with a legacy character I’ve ever seen, without point or purpose to justify it.

P.S. It has come out recently that Burstyn was hesitant to accept the role, however took the salary and has since created a new scholarship for actors at Pace university. Another reason to love Ellen Burstyn and the only thing to point to when it comes to positive creative work that has/could come from Exorcist: Believer.

P.P.S Let’s not forget – how could we – that is allegedly the first part of a full trilogy, with Deceiver (f*ck me) coming out in 2025. Place your bets now folks, place your bets, cause I sure as hell doubt it’ll be in any way related to this film, that is if it comes out at all.

-     -  Thomas Carruthers