When two girls disappear into the woods and return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, the father of one girl seeks out Chris MacNeil, who's been forever altered by what happened to her daughter fifty years ago.
In the world of scary movies, some old favourites like Scream and Halloween brought back the characters we love while introducing new faces. So, why not do the same for The Exorcist? The Exorcist: Believer tries to revive this famous horror series, but it doesn't quite hit the mark. It feels slow, has a weird structure, and, most importantly, it's not at all scary.
This movie makes an unusual mistake. It revisits one of the scariest movies ever made but somehow forgets to include the scary parts. They even reused the music from the original, but it still doesn't give you the chills.
The team behind this movie, including director David Gordon Green and writers Scott Teems, Danny McBride, and Peter Sattler, try to do some interesting things. They bring together a bunch of different characters to fight against a demon. The main character is Victor Fielding, played by Leslie Odom Jr. He's a protective single dad who has to assemble a group of people to help him save his daughter Angela (Lidya Jewett) and her friend Katherine (Olivia O’Neill) from being possessed by demons.
The beginning of the movie is actually not bad. It sets up the relationship between Victor and his daughter Angela really well. It also hints at Angela's desire to connect with her late mother and the growing fear as the parents realize something is wrong after their daughters go missing in the woods. But, despite all this, it's not scary or suspenseful. Still, the first part has some good moments, and you feel like the director might be onto something.
The actors in the movie are all pretty good, and they do a good job of making things tense. They create a sense of uncertainty, and if you didn't know this was an Exorcist movie, you might hope for some unexpected twists. Unfortunately, once they settle on the idea that it's all supernatural, the movie goes off in the wrong direction.
The movie tries to show how a community can fall apart when bad things happen and people can't get along. But it also tries to show how they can come together to fight against the evil. This group includes Katherine's very religious parents, their church leader, a nurse who used to want to be a nun, Victor's workout buddy and neighbour, a Catholic priest, and an African spiritualist Doctor. It's an interesting mix of people with different beliefs.
The movie tries to juggle too many subplots at once. There's Ann Dowd's character who wanted to be a nun when she was younger, some voodoo stuff going on, a Protestant minister getting involved, and even a Catholic priest who faces resistance from his superiors. It's just too much, and it takes away from the main story. Another problem is that they focus too much on Angela and her dad's relationship and forget about Katherine, the other girl who's possessed. This makes the story weaker and takes away from the potential for scary moments.
The movie's strength is in showing how a community can come together to fight evil, especially when they all have different beliefs. This part is interesting, even though the movie doesn't do a great job of it. But, in the end, The Exorcist: Believer falls short of being as shocking and scary as the original Exorcist movie. This shows just how powerful practical effects and makeup are for creating a truly terrifying atmosphere, something this movie lacks.
The Exorcist: Believer is a loud and chaotic movie that doesn't deliver the scares you expect from a horror film. It tries to explore themes of community and unity against evil but gets lost in a complicated plot and forgets to be scary. It can't match up to the classic original and misses the chance to bring new life to The Exorcist series for a new generation.
The Exorcist: Believer was released in NZ cinemas on October 5, 2023