FILM REVIEW: "THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER" WILL LEAVE YOU IN DOUBT
Be it perpetrator or victim, we all feel the wrath of teenage angst. Though your teenager may be a nuisance, smoking pot and slamming doors, be glad they’re not speaking Latin backwards and beating the ever-loving Christ out of the local priest – and if they are, well, perhaps its time to contact an Exorcist: Believer (or reduce their screen time).
When two teenage friends begin to show signs of demonic possession, their families unite to thwart the evil. Employing science and faith, they face an adversary they can scarcely understand, nor believe!
The Exorcist: Believer is a belated successor to the iconic horror masterpiece ‘The Exorcist’. Helmed by the J.J. Abrams of horror franchises, David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express, Halloween 2018), who’s hot off the press from his wayward Halloween franchise. Green’s directing is serviceable, but The Exorcist: Believer is a simple minded, by-the-books exorcism film that’s better than it could’ve been, but worse than it should. You’ve seen one Exorcism movie; you’ve seen them all.
Now it’s no easy feat standing in its forefather shadow, but the original Exorcist franchise is subversive to say the least (The first redefined horror cinema, the third follows a serial killer/demon possession murder spree!). The Exorcist: Believer straps two demons to a chair whilst a bunch of idiosyncratic neighbour’s chant at them. There are hints at discussions regarding faith versus science and faith versus faith, but the film is either too lazy or incompetent to register its own subtext. Despite the evident nostalgia, the film doesn’t even attempt to by iconic. There’s minimal green bile, barely any head twirls, and not a single spider-walk down a staircase. You’ve got to stop tying the demons to furniture if you want this franchise to thrive!
Twice the ooky, half as spooky, relative newbies Lidya Jewett and Olivia O’Neill are creepy and malicious as the afflicted, however their malicious intentions are all too often thwarted by a monologue about the beauty of community. Leslie Odom Jr (Hamilton), Jennifer Nettles and Ann Dowd (Green State) are standouts in the overcrowded troupe, however their impact is minimised as the seventeen other characters preach incoherently atop each other. When The Texas Chainsaw Massacre reintroduced legacy characters it became evident these legacy-sequels would never cease, and so, Ellen Burstyn’s original character, Chris MacNeil, mother of the original afflicted, appears in an advisory role, though does little other than string this entry to the first. This film would likely be better received if it weren’t attached to The Exorcist IP.
Whilst the first hour features decent scares and a mystifying setup, the titular Exorcism is boring and preachy. With no new gimmicks, no further lore, and a resistance to killing unnecessary characters, you’ll pray that The Exorcist: Believer is better than it sounds. It doesn’t leave a lasting impact, nor a restless sleep, but a decent jolt and some freaky behaviours make it a serviceable popcorn chomper for those in need of a scare and nothing more. As my companion stated: ‘It doesn’t deserve the Exorcist font.’
No dread, and no evil dead, The Exorcist: Believer is a competent yet derivative film that is ultimately forgettable. If you ever watched a possession movie and wondered what it would be like to be the one strapped to a chair whilst religious zealots yelled at you for a few hours, The Exorcist: Believer is in cinemas October 5th!