“The Exorcist” is the latest iconic
horror franchise to receive the legacy sequel treatment. But despite an inkling
of hope that it could be a return to form for the series, the new “The
Exorcist: Believer” is little more than another overblown horror sequel that
fails to step out of the shadow of its groundbreaking originator.
Like the 2018-22 “Halloween” reboot/sequel
trilogy before it, “The Exorcist: Believer” was directed and co-written by
David Gordon Green. Ignoring previous sequels, it instead opts to tell a new
story while still existing within the same universe as the original.
Set 13 years after his wife was killed
in an earthquake in Haiti, photographer Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom Jr.) is a
single father living in Atlanta. But when his daughter Angela (Lidya Jewett)
and her friend Katherine (Olivia O’Neill) play hooky after school and run off
into the woods, it results in a three-day police search for the girls, who when
found have no memory of what happened or how long they had been missing.
Things are mostly smooth sailing up to this
point. Although it doesn’t evoke the same feeling of dread, the opening scene
in Haiti feels modern while still having some awareness of William Friedkin’s
1973 original “The Exorcist,” which was adapted by writer William Peter Blatty
from his own 1971 novel. Odom Jr. has a warmth that makes his relationship with
Jewett’s character easy to get invested in, and while those in supporting roles
don’t generate the same level of interest, the father-daughter bond is a solid
enough foundation for the first act.
But as the characters’ lives are upended when
it’s revealed the girls have brought something home with them, so too is the
emotional core. As it dives into the supernatural, it attempts to up the stakes
from the first film with two possessions — and, resultantly, devolves into a
series of modern horror tropes and jump scares with a flashier exterior.
Much has been made about “The Exorcist:
Believer” being the first film in the franchise in 50 years to feature Ellen
Burstyn as Chris MacNeil, mother to Regan, who was possessed in the 1973 film.
Reintroduced as an author who has dedicated her life to researching demonic
possession and exorcisms, she is brought back to offer a voice of expertise
given her experiences. Burstyn’s talents are wasted, however, as she does her
best with the material given but pans out to little more than a glorified
cameo.
“The Exorcist: Believer” lacks the atmosphere and depth of
storytelling that made the first one so compelling, and when it does stick to
its roots it’s by way of direct callbacks that have already been done better.
“The Exorcist: Believer” is now playing in theaters.
