The Exorcist: Believer (2023)

Score: 3 / 5

How do you take something universally regarded as one of the most foundational, terrifying, and iconic cultural productions of all time and, several decades later, attempt to generate a fresh, direct sequel as the start of a new trilogy? There's no simple answer, but David Gordon Green seems determined to make legacy sequels his thing. He did it with Halloween, Halloween Kills, and Halloween Ends, a trilogy I dearly love and look forward to revisiting in a few weeks (it's also notable that Halloween II and H20 are also excellent parts of the series, and that I have no intention of ever watching any of the other installments or iterations again). And now he's doing something similar with The Exorcist, now in its 50th anniversary year, launching Believer as the start of a new legacy trilogy that ignores all of the other sequels. And while the infamous first sequel is not one I enjoy, there are significant and fascinating points to be made for The Exorcist III, Exorcist: The Beginning, and Dominion. I also strongly recommend the two-season series of The Exorcist, which aired on FOX from 2016-2018; a sort of legacy sequel in its own right, its brilliance and technical acumen makes it one of my favorite horror series and I very much hope that, at some point during Green's trilogy, he pays homage to it. Because it's great.

But so far, Green seems to be doing his own thing, for better or worse. This film, written seemingly by committee, tries to do a whole heck of a lot, and most of it makes for a fun time at the cinema. During the first half, which mostly serves to set up the premise and raise its own stakes, I was totally enraptured. Its slow pace and emotional introductions to characters reminded me more than a bit of Friedkin's original, to say nothing of the editing and sound editing and even some cinematography, all of which feel true to form from the original. Clearly these filmmakers have done their homework and are trying to make a spiritual and aesthetic sister-film to the 1973 classic.

I don't want to focus too much on plot, but it bears mentioning that the film starts off without clear ties to demons or possession at all, much like the original. There is a disturbing opening event in a distant country again, but that doesn't really add much to the mythos. The first half sets itself up as more of a mystery than anything else, and I quite liked that, though I'd have preferred something more along the lines of Prisoners or Picnic at Hanging Rock if we were going that route. During these scenes, the film's use of silence and negative space make for occasionally eerie moments that force us to wonder if there is already evil at work in the lives of our main characters.

As far as characters go, nothing can really match the Chris and Regan MacNeil dynamic (nor that of Merrin and Karras, for that matter), but there are some intriguing faces. Victor (Leslie Odom, Jr.) is the protagonist, whose past haunts him: his pregnant wife was killed during an earthquake on vacation in Haiti, though her child was saved. In the present, Victor is a great father to Angela (Lydia Jewett), though flashbacks and an eventual climactic revelation will throw it all into dramatic levels we didn't quite expect. Their relationship is pretty great; everyone else in the film feels shoved in, cobbled together, and largely forgettable, sadly. The young teenager Angela and her best friend Katherine (Olivia O'Neill) go on a "study break" after school, when they sneak into the woods and attempt to communicate with a spirit (presumably Angela's mother). When they disappear, Victor and the other girl's Catholic parents (Jennifer Nettles and Norbert Leo Butz) collide as they attempt to mount search parties and support each other.

I got excited when more characters were introduced who are not Catholic. Given the uptick in possession films in non-Catholic contexts, which has been lovely, it makes sense for an Exorcist in this day and age to be more interfaith. To that end, there's a nice fine line drawn between what this movie is setting out to do as opposed to other Catholic exorcism movies of late that seem to opt for the Grand Guignol approach to theatricality (think of The Nun and The Pope's Exorcist). Here, Green and his team seem more interested in the psychological and spiritual approach to the story and characters, resulting in a climax of interfaith religious leaders working together to fight the demonic force possessing the young girls. Over the course of the film, we see a female priest, a former nun (an underused Ann Dowd), a fearful padre, and even a witch doctor of sorts (Okwui Okpokwasili), all of whom join up to fight Pazuzu on multiple theological fronts. Multiple, that is, until the end of the climax, when it all boils down to pretty clearly Christian language. I had hoped for more and better, so let's hope the writers come up with something a little different next time.

Then there's Chris MacNeil, played again by Ellen Burstyn, who is utterly wasted in this film. She's brought in oddly as a sort of legacy aid, by virtue of her having published a book on her experience decades ago. As fallout from that, her daughter Regan has gone into hiding and cut off communication. But Chris seems willing enough to help Victor and Angela, so she leaves her oceanside retreat to engage with the devil yet again. When she arrives, she's treated like Father Merrin reincarnated, as if she's a spiritually battle-hardened champion ready to cast out her nemesis. It makes little to no sense, and the frail old woman is quickly subdued by the demon. One wonders how she'll be used moving forward, because this was pretty pathetic, and I'd say fairly insulting to a character (and actor) we all so dearly love.

Critiquing the first part in a planned trilogy is difficult, especially one meant to cater to fans of an original fifty years prior, because we simply don't know the big picture yet. But for what it is, Believer is a lot of fun on its own terms. I'd say it's a refreshingly solid -- grounded -- entry in the genre, one that prefers realism to gonzo spectacle. There are about two moments of CGI that prove paranormal activity, and I fundamentally disagreed with their inclusion in this film, but for the most part it's all pretty reasonable. Better use of legacy characters will be crucial moving forward, but at least Linda Blair might be back for that. And I hope that the next two movies more fully develop their thematic concerns, whether about various faith approaches to possession and exorcism or about how emotional connections to each other can help us resist evil and heal from trauma. Obviously two incredibly well-meaning priests saved Regan but weren't strong enough to defeat Pazuzu before; we'll need something better this time around.

Frankly, I wish this series would have more in common with the short-lived television series, whether by including those characters, continuing those plotlines, or adopting those themes and aesthetic. It's unlikely, but it might stop my head from spinning and squirting pea soup.