Scream Stream 2023: The Exorcist Believer

While in Haiti, Photographer Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom Jr.) and his pregnant wife Soreene (Tracey Graves), experience an earthquake.  Soreene is gravely injured, and Victor is given the choice of saving his wife or his unborn baby. Thirteen years later, Victor is a single father raising his daughter, Angela (Lidya Jewett), in Georgia having chosen to save the life of his child. One day after school, Angela, and her friend Katherine (Olivia O’Neill) wander into the woods to perform a séance so Angela can talk to her mother, but they don’t make it home that evening.  Sparking a three-day manhunt for the children.  They are eventually found, but with no memory of what happened during those three days.  Soon both kids start acting strangely and are eventually hospitalized.  Katherine’s family is extremely religious, but Victor lost his faith when his wife died.  As the film progresses, it becomes apparent to all that both kids are possessed and Victor tracks down former film star and author, Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) whose daughter went through an exorcism and lived. Chris tells Victor that he should use exorcism methods from multiple faiths, so a team of religious leaders, including a Baptist preacher, a Catholic priest and a Rootwork healer, are assembled to perform a group exorcism.  Can the girls be freed from the demon’s grasp, or will they perish?  Watch and find out!

This is the sixth film in the Exorcist franchise and the first in a trilogy of sequels planned and all to be directed by David Gordon Green.  The second film in the trilogy, The Exorcist: Deceiver is scheduled to be released in April of 2025. The original film was originally released in 1973 and is celebrating its 50^th anniversary.  This new installment was theatrically released on October 6^th, 2023, and on digital platforms on October 24, 2023.  The film received mainly negative reviews with Variety writer, Owen Gleiberman saying: “The Exorcist: Believer, in its superficially competent and poshly mounted way, feels about as dangerous as a crucifix dipped in a bottle of designer water”.  The film was projected to make around $35 million in its opening weekend, and although did better than its predecessors, fell short of that, earning only $26.5 million.

The original movie is a classic and highly regarded as one of the best horror films ever made. It used wonderful practical effects, a great story, a well written script, stellar cinematography and direction, and amazing performances from the entire cast.  Exorcist: Believer has none of that.  The use of computer-generated special effects where they were not needed and didn’t look particularly good. The story feels chaotic and sloppy, with the script’s dialogue feeling forced and disingenuous. The direction feels unhinged, trying to pull aspects that made the original movie great, but only accomplished to confuse and confound the audience. And finally, the performances are mundane or average at best.  In the original, we get to know Regan, the possessed girl, and were able to form connections with both her and her mother.  The audience cared about what happened to that family. In this new trainwreck of a movie, the only character that is likeable is Victor played by Leslie Odom Jr., whose performance is the only one worth watching.  The audience barely cares what happens to the two girls with both their storyline and performances evoking very little emotional response. It was good seeing Ellen Burstyn’s character come back, but it really felt like she was there as a gimmick with little true impact on the plot. There is also a brief appearance by Linda Blair’s Regan. This wasn’t a terrible film, but it is a sequel to one of the best horror movies ever made and in comparison, it just doesn’t stand a chance in hell!