"THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER" (2023)

Robbson

17 okt. 2023

William Friedkin must be turning in his grave

Despite my heavy doubts, "The Exorcist: Believer" did for a moment manage to pique my interest - only to quickly transform into a disappointing contender for the worst horror movie of the year.

David Gordon Green ("Halloween" 2018) was, for some reason, chosen to direct this direct sequel to William Friedkin's masterpiece "The Exorcist" (1973). This time it's not just one girl who gets possessed - but two...and that's about as much new thinking that Green and his writers managed to bring to the table. Let's dig into this mess shall we?

In the wake of losing his wife in a tragic accident, Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom Jr.) finds himself navigating the challenging path of single parenthood as he raises his daughter Angela.

One day Angela disappears along with her best friend Katherine. Fortunately enough both girls are found after three days, but something is wrong. Neither of them seem to remember anything of what happened during the time they were gone. Soon they both start to manifest an increasingly disturbing behavior and it becomes obvious that they have brought something evil back within them.

The first act of "The Exorcist: Believer" stands out as the only, somewhat, solid part of the movie even though it does a pretty lousy job of catching my interest. It doesn't take long for the story to begin deteriorating - mainly due to the very hectic editing and rushed pacing that plagues film.

I get the feeling that almost every scene leading up to the movie's climax has been cut short on the editing floor and that details and parts that would have benefitted the story - have been wasted. Halfway through the movie I'm already bored, disappointed and mildly confused.

I still have some hope for the movie's upcoming climax to, at least, be somewhat entertaining. Unfortunately, once we arrive there the movie manages to get even worse.

We are taken through this unholy mess of a climax, where it feels like neither the characters nor the director have the slightest idea of what they are doing or what's going on.

A gathering of priests and spiritualists from various beliefs and religions have teamed up to get rid of the demon infesting the girls - why we all of a sudden need all of them is not really explained - but who cares right?

The Exorcist Avengers chaotically perform their various rites, the girls do the usual swearing, head spinning, spitting and cursing, the cinematographer behaves like a drunken monkey that's been given a camera - and I just can't help but laugh at this mess.

Once this circus is over, we're promptly whisked through a couple of brief concluding scenes, and yeah...that’s that.

While I'm staring down the rolling credits on the theatre screen I'm angry, disappointed and keep asking myself the same question over and over: how did they managed to fuck this up so badly? Why didn't anyone pull the plug after two failed test screenings - how did no one see that this was obviously not going to fly at all?

This is supposed to be the start of a new trilogy yet there are no tantalizing cliffhangers or inventive teasers for the sequel (if they even decide to continue after this mess of a start) it just ends like they stopped caring.

Knowing that the film has gone through two failed test screenings and based on what I’ve seen in the teasers, trailers and TV-Spots that were mashed out before it’s release, I get the impression that the movie has been through quite a massacre on the editing table - leaving us with the sloppy, sewed together remains of what could possibly have been something solid.

When it comes to the screenplay, it is carelessly written with sloppy dialogue - not to mention that the story sorely lacks the vital element of establishing an emotional connection between the audience and the main characters. This makes it very challenging to genuinely invest in what happens to them throughout the movie.

There is a scene in the movie where Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) confronts a possessed Katherine, she or rather the demon within her, says "We've met before" upon seeing Chris. The problem here is that the demon in "The Exorcist: Believer" is not the same as the one who possessed her daughter Regan (Linda Blair) in the original, it's not the same demon Chris MacNeil met back then.

Things like this shows the amount of effort the writers put into researching and studying the lore of "The Exorcist" (1973) as well as William Peter Blatty's novel upon which it was based. There is just not much thought and care put into the story of "The Exorcist: Believer" (2023).

Two of the main ingredients that really contributed to making William Friedkin's "The Exorcist" (1973) so effective, was the phasing of the film combined with the masterfully crafted screenplay.

It really devoted time to get us close to the characters, get to know them and understand them. It also carried this heavy, ominous and eerie atmosphere looming all through the movie right from the start, gradually and slowly intensifying - reeling us deeper into the intriguing and terrifying story.

The original is also very simply shot and manages to achieve a strong sense of documentary reality, which also really contributes to it being so effective and frightening.

Friedkin did not refer to "The Exorcist" as a horror movie but as a theological thriller, it wasn’t approached as a horror movie but more as a drama/thriller with supernatural elements. ”The Exorcist: Believer” however, is approached and shot as any other Hollywood blockbuster horror movie - made to cash in some heavy dough on a famous title and it’s not scary at all.

One of the things they pushed heavily in the marketing for the movie, was the return of the original cast members - Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair - whom they apparently fought very hard to convince them to return.

I’m a bit surprised Burstyn and Blair eventually agreed to come back, because after seeing the movie you realize that they are just in it to draw the audience with their names - in terms of story their characters are shamefully underused and barely have any screen time.

Even though ”The Exorcist: Believer” is overall a huge disappointment to me, there were still some things that I did appreciate. The acting is - with a few exceptions - quite solid, especially from Olivia Marcum and Lidya Jewett - who portray Katherine and Angela manage to deliver a great performance under the circumstances.

The soundtrack by David Wingo and Amman Abbasi is a great tribute and it’s obvious that they studied the soundtrack of the original film when composing this (unlike the editor that David Gordon Green praised for having a deep understanding of the original). The updated version of Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells that became synonymous with ”The Exorcist” (1973) is a real treat to listen to.

The movie thankfully uses a lot of practical effects and it becomes clear that also the make-up artists did their homework properly, the look of the possessed girls and the demon brings your thoughts back to the original.

After this catastrophe which probably got both William Friedkin and William Peter Blatty to roll over in their graves, Blumhouse are apparently taking a step back and reworking their approach to the whole project, before continuing with the next film in the new trilogy entitled "The Exorcist: Deceiver".

We'll see if they'll be able to retrieve this sunken ship and get it to float.