When it comes to horror films, The Exorcist is constantly in the conversation for the best of all time. Personally, I’m not sure it’s the best ever made, but what I will say is, for a movie that’s 50 years old, it still creeps the hell out of me when I watch it today.
Now one of the more recent masters of horror, Director David Gordon Green of the latest Halloween trilogy fame, is resuscitating the long dead franchise with The Exorcist: Believer.
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A coming of age story
Victor’s (Leslie Odom Jr.) daughter and her Baptist friend are found after missing for three days. At first all seems well, save for some burn marks on the bottoms of their feet. But as time goes on the girls become increasingly stranger in their manner and complexion. They develop uncharacteristically vulgar vocabularies and somehow know the deepest, darkest secrets of the people around them.
When modern science and medicine fails to help, it’s allegedly clear that the girls are possessed and an exorcism must be performed.
Sense of community
One thing I think David Gordon Green nailed when he made his Halloween trilogy was the panicked feeling of a community confronted with a savage evil that bands together to survive. This is a translated fantastically over to The Exorcist: Believer.
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When it becomes apparent nobody can help the poor parents of these possessed girls, whether it be the hospital or the local catholic church, they take it upon themselves to gather an inclusive group of sympathisers from all walks of life and faith. So, when the usual catholic methods of exorcism that we witnessed in the original film don’t cut it, they bring in a rootwork healer to help bolster the spiritual firepower against this supposed demon.
The idea of all these different belief systems working together against a common enemy is tantalising, but ultimately isn’t explored enough.
Missing kids
Demons are scary and all, but the true horror is found when the girls go missing. The dread is amplified when you’re not only losing a child physically but also spiritually through possession.
The cursed girls in question, played by Lidya Jewett and Olivia O’Neill, are delightfully demonic in their performances. I just wish they spent a bit more time building up the possession. The full-blown take-over of their bodies happens so quickly that it’s hard to believe that the parents would turn to exorcism so fast.
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I would have liked to have seen the filmmakers delve into the comparisons between a possessed person and a teenager. That’s a terrifying film in itself right there!
With a bow on top
The Exorcist: Believer is the first in a laid-out trilogy, and you can really feel it. The film has a great set up, like the first act of a ‘whole’ film. A lot of themes are suggested, but eventually amount to nothing or very little and things are wrapped easily and conveniently.
For a movie about demonic possession this feels way too clean.
I think a lot of the ideas will be revisited in coming films, but any ‘movie’ should be standalone to a certain extent. Otherwise make it a television series.
Night terrors
Although The Exorcist: Believer doesn’t reach its full potential, and comes nowhere near the heights of that original 1973 film (let’s be real, did anybody really expect it to?), I was still legitimately uncomfortable during the confronting possessed scenes. The thought of these demonic girls crawling around kept me up at night.
This is the first scary movie in a long time that actually gave me nightmares, so I’d say it’s done its job.
Quest Daily scores The Exorcist: Believer:
7/10
