“The Exorcist: Believer” came out October 6, 2023 starring Olivia O’Neill, Lidya Jewett, and Leslie Odom Jr. It was directed by David Gordon Green as the 6th installment in The Exorcist franchise.
Telling the story of two young girls: Katherine, a protestant, and Angela, who was not religious though had ties to Haitian spiritualism. They become possessed after disappearing into the woods for 3 days while trying to contact Angela’s dead mother. The rest of the movie is spent trying to expel the demon that possessed both of them. The plot was very similar to “The Exorcist” (1973) which focused on Chris MacNeil, whose daughter becomes possessed by a demon and is joined by Catholic priest Father Karras to fight for her daughter Raegan’s soul.
Although “The Exorcist: Believer” had good production value and passable writing it felt much longer than its hour and fifty one minute run time. Not only was the plot dragged out but it was also all over the place. The demon was exorcized through a combination of Protestant hope and Haitian spiritual cleansing, in an attempt to diversify the exorcist universe. However, it didn’t work. It only made the movie’s climax nonsensical; no explanation was provided to the viewer as to why the rituals were being utilized or how the powers of Protestantism and Haitian spiritualism combined could expel demons. “The Exorcist” (1973) focused solely on Catholicism and took time to unpack the themes of faith and skepticism making the rituals portrayed and the feel of the film itself more authentic.
“They had good actors, a good franchise, good effects, but they just blew it,” viewer Julien Hoffman said. “They didn’t want to take risks deviating from the formula and it didn’t work.”
By the end of the movie I was wishing somebody would have stabbed my eyes out with a crucifix instead of Ellen Burstyn’s. If you want to see a good movie just watch “The Exorcist” (1973), a film that is actually scary and has a much more focused and cohesive story.
