They say the devil is in the details. So here is the devil, as it pertains to The Exorcist: Believer: The movie is coming to streaming in a matter of weeks. The film, the first sequel in many years to the iconic ’70s horror classic, will premiere on Peacock at the start of December.
The new film is directly tied to the events of the original from 1973, directed by the late William Friedkin and based on the book by William Peter Blatty. It also features star Ellen Burstyn’s first appearance in an Exorcist movie in 50 (!) years. She once again plays Chris MacNeil, the mother of little Regan, who got possessed by an unholy demon in the original movie. In Believer, a father trying to figure out what his happening to his own daughter (spoiler alert: devil stuff) seeks out Chris for help in solving the mystery.
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It was a strong premise for a film, but I have to admit: I was hugely disappointed by The Exorcist Believer, especially because it was directed by David Gordon Green, who had done such a good job performing a similar update on another ’70s horror franchise, Halloween. This time, at least for me, he really missed the mark. In my review, I wrote…
Believer swiftly descends into bad horror movie hell. Although I have no first-hand knowledge about the production, it appears that this Exorcist may have been heavily truncated and reworked in post-production — most obviously in a scene where Burstyn delivers a two-minute monologue almost entirely off-screen while the camera focuses on an endless closeup of Odom’s face. Then suddenly it is exorcism time, even though the film has spent less than a handful of minutes with its one Catholic priest character. Much of its intended tension hinges on Victor, and whether he will begin to believe in God. But when you’ve seen two girls sprout scars out of thin air, speak with evil demon voices, and synchronize their heartbeats, it doesn’t take a whole lot of faith to entertain the notion of a higher power.
So it’s not great. But hey: If you already have a Peacock subscription, you can watch The Exorcist: Believer for exactly $0 additional dollars. And that is a pretty good deal. It premieres on the service on December 1.
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