The Exorcist: Believer Review: Travels Halfway Between Unbridled Citationism and Search For Own Identity
Cast: Leslie Odom Jr., Lidya Jewet, Ann Dowd, Olivia Marcum, Ellen Burstyn, Norbert Leo Butz, Jennifer Nettles, Nick Benas, Rory Gross, Amanda Beth, Nigel Barto, Raphael Sbarge
Director: David Gordon Green
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3/5 (three stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
The Devil has awakened in The Exorcist: Believer, the official and canonical sequel to William Friedkin’s original 1973 masterpiece. The new film in fact completely cancels the remaining films of the saga, proposing an operation identical to the recent Halloween trilogy: a sequel that recovers the spirit and characters of the original work, which also sees David Gordon Green as director – who has already directed Halloween, Halloween Kills and Halloweeen Ends, in this regard, check out our review of Halloween Ends. The result is a horror feature film with a citations and nostalgic spirit, which fails to match the progenitor of the franchise due to various writing problems but is still capable of providing a couple of hours of healthy entertainment based on possessions and exorcisms.
Certainly, a good point to start from is what made the success of the first film, the original, and in the case of The Exorcist, we are therefore talking about a construction of atmospheres and tension that borders on perfection, of a carefully structured plot that it becomes progressively more engaging, and then leads to a final climax that has few equals in the history of cinema. Finally, we can only mention the characterization of the characters, so human in their weaknesses but endowed with great strength. As we will see in this review of The Exorcist: Believer, David Gordon Green tries to revive Friedkin’s masterpiece starting from the elements we have listed above, but only partially manages to recreate what made the 1973 film so unforgettable. If the first part works and makes us breathe the same atmosphere as the first chapter, the second almost completely loses focus and direction, putting together a series of good ideas but without really managing to develop them.
The Exorcist: Believer Review: The Story Plot
The film opens in Haiti, in 2010. An American tourist couple, Victor and Sorenne, who are almost at the end of her pregnancy, are on holiday in Port-au-Prince. She is very religious, he is a little less so, but both are eager to start a new life with their little girl, who will be called Angela. But the dream of a future together is abruptly interrupted by the devastating earthquake that destroys Haiti: Sorenne loses her life, but little Angela is saved. Thirteen years later, Victor is a single father completely dedicated to the well-being of his little girl, now a brilliant preteen. Sorenne’s presence, however, has never abandoned them, he still tries to overcome the pain, she feels the need to give shape to a mother who doesn’t even live in her memories. It is to feel closer to her that Angela convinces a friend of hers, Katherine, to follow her into the woods behind the school, where together they will carry out a sort of séance to communicate with the spirit of the long-lost woman. However, when neither Angela nor Katherine return for dinner, both Victor and the other parents begin to seriously worry. Nobody knows where the two ended up if anyone harmed them, or if they are even still alive.
After three nightmare days for the two families, Angela and Katherine finally reappear, dozens and dozens of kilometers from where they were last seen, without remembering absolutely anything of what happened to them. Physically, apart from a few superficial wounds, the two girls seem fine, but their parents immediately realize that something is wrong with them, that something has changed in them. In fact, in a few days, the situation worsens: hysterical crises, trans states, excesses of violence. Is it a problem with their psyche, caused by some kind of trauma, or is there something far more incurable and malignant behind their state? Victor tries anyway to help his little girl, even accepting the advice of that very religious neighbor: contact Chris MacNeil, a woman who faced a very similar situation many years ago. The woman’s entrance on the scene will put everyone face to face with the tragic and inconceivable truth: Angela and Katherine are both possessed by an evil entity, the same one, probably, that Chris and his daughter Regan have already faced.
The Exorcist: Believer Review and Analysis
Unfortunately, the points of contact between The Believer and the original Exorcist stop at an exquisitely narrative and partly formal scheme because the sequel signed by David Gordon Green fails to reach the heights of Friedkin’s cult. It is above all the fault of the writing on the characters that is at times too dull, with a division of roles that recall those of the ’73 film but which do not receive the right in-depth analysis. Even the involvement of Ellen Burstyn, the Chris MacNeil of The Exorcist, does not have the same flavor as the return of Jamie Lee Curtis in the new Halloween saga: the limited playing time granted to the iconic protagonist of the cult, combined with an effective musical rearrangement of the Classic OST, they are the few highlights of a plot that doesn’t leave its mark, managing to strike only (and fortunately!) at the end, with a predictable but exciting twist.
It’s not all a disaster, and some outstanding elements allow The Exorcist: Believer to at least reach a sufficient level: the characterization of Tanner (Leslie Odom Jr.) works properly and the interpretation of Lidya Jewett and Olivia O ‘Neil (Angela and Katherine respectively, the two possessed) is excellent, supported by an excellent make-up job that recalls that of Linda Blair in Friedkin’s work. We also know that the historic actress Regan MacNeil was present on the set to provide advice to the two teenagers. The result is quite satisfactory and helps to cloak the film in a pleasant nostalgia effect. Unfortunately, will not repay the most demanding and passionate spectators of the Seventies classic, but it can prove to be pleasant entertainment thanks to the horrifying direction of David Gordon Green, who gives his best, especially in the central segment of the film.
As we told you at the beginning, David Gordon Green’s The Exorcist: Believer is not an entirely successful operation, indeed in its second part the film wobbles and stumbles several times. But what went wrong with this long-awaited sequel? If the first hour works and can build the atmosphere and tension well (with the right slowness, making us “breathe” the same air as the original), in conjunction with Chris MacNeil’s entry on the scene, things get better too hasty, confused, fast, as if there were too many things to stage, to introduce (let’s remember that the project is that of a trilogy, so two more films await us) and to resolve. The result? The biggest sin for a horror film, especially if it is the sequel to a cult-like Friedkin’s: The Exorcist: Believer is not scary. In the second half, it even struggles to be disturbing. In trying to repeat what worked so well in The Exorcist, while also trying to take that necessary step forward to adapt to the tastes of today’s audience, something goes wrong: the tension builds but then collapses, just when it should have exploded.
If you remember, we told you how one of the merits of the first chapter was the perfect final climax; in this case unfortunately the conclusion is dull and disappointing, far from the glories of that first exorcism that made the history of cinema. However, there is something in The Believer that convinced us, namely the characterization of Leslie Odom Jr.’s character. The relationship that binds Victor to his daughter is credible and touching, we feel the strength of his fatherly love as much as we feel Chris’s for little Regan. This is what transports us into the film, and despite all the defects we listed above, it makes this story more engaging, more human, and more real. The secondary characters are not given the same treatment, and unfortunately, they are all sketched out too superficially.
Also disappointing is the great return to the scene of this sequel, namely Ellen Burstyn, who appears a little out of place, almost as if she had been inserted into the film exclusively to create a connection with the previous one (or with the next sequels). Having said this, however, we are curious to find out how the story will develop in the next film of this newborn trilogy (which should be called The Exorcist: Deceiver). The question that arises spontaneously is whether we will continue to follow the character of Leslie Odom Jr. or we will completely change direction, truly returning to the origins of Chris and Regan. The hope, whichever of these may be the case, is that David Gordon Green finds his path but also the right way to honor a sacred monster like the original, returning to what The Exorcist is still remembered for today: being so scary.
The authorial respect that Green observes towards the master William Friedkin throughout the entire film is admirable and even moving, without losing sight of him even for a second. The quotes and reworkings of the original work are effective, as are the long-awaited great returns, among all that of Ellen Burstyn’s Chris MacNeil. However, fear is never really fear and the conventionality of the horror register developed here from element to element and from model to model risks disappointing, however predictable and poorly constructed. Nothing to do with the great work done by David Gordon Green in recent years, with his three Halloween chapters, also heavily indebted to a bygone yet immortal cinematic era that bears the signature of another great master of the genre, such as John Carpenter is and will always be.
The Exorcist: Believer Review: The Last Words
The Exorcist: Believer is an ambivalent operation, which travels halfway between unbridled citationism and the search for an identity of its own. Unfortunately, not everything works perfectly in both approaches due to too lackluster management of the characters and too little playing time given to the protagonists of the original cult. The interpretation of the two possessed girls, who have “studied” the work done by Linda Blair in William Friedkin’s classic and are supported by excellent make-up, however, make David Gordon Green’s film a return to the origins that is at least sufficient, hoping that the second chapter of this sequel saga – which is already in progress – will be able to work better on the narrative direction.
The Exorcist: Believer Review: Travels Halfway Between Unbridled Citationism and Search For Own Identity - Filmyhype
Director: David Gordon Green
3
Pros
- Strong performances from Leslie Odom Jr. and Ellen Burstyn
- Some well-crafted horror sequences
- Attempts to explore some interesting themes, such as faith, doubt, and the nature of evil
Cons
- Convoluted plot
- Inconsistent pacing
- Lack of genuine scares
- Overreliance on cheap jump scares
- Feels like a cash grab
