This sequel to the 1973 horror classic can’t keep up with its predecessor.
You’re supposed to yell, “Bloody hell!” In “The Exorcist: Believer,” which is now only available in theaters, the devil is back in business. It continues the 1973 horror classic by assuming that two earlier sequels, two prequels, and one unsuccessful TV series never existed. I wish.
The first “Exorcist” was thrillingly too much, which is the bad news. This follow-up is boringly short. The original, which was directed by bonafide crazy man William Friedkin, who passed away in August, and was based on the best-selling novel by William Peter Blatty, who also won an Oscar for his screenplay, nevertheless casts a spooky shadow over the sequel despite its R rating.
Although you’ll welcome Ellen Burstyn’s return as Chris MacNeil, the movie star mother who had an exorcism done on her 13-year-old daughter Regan (Linda Blair), a practice that nearly killed both of them, Academy gold is not in the cards for this safe and terrible copycat.
Burstyn, who is 90 years old, had sensibly declined all requests to re-create the role that had helped her become a household name and a contender for the best actress Oscar in 1974. Her cost? She was obviously drawn in by Pace University’s excellent scholarship program for aspiring performers.
Even yet, the only justification for pushing back the release of this sequel by a week is cowardice, aside from the fear of having to compete with the Taylor Swift concert movie from her Eras Tour. Swifties may be a living hell for the young girls they possess, but demons have nothing to run from.
With a “Halloween” trilogy of diminishing returns, director and co-writer David Gordon Green already compromised his previously brilliant indie roots (“All the Real Girls,” “George Washington”) and now seeks to do the same with “The Exorcist.” The obvious money grab is disheartening, especially given that “Believer” is such an awkward patchwork that entangles decent actors in its web.
A widower photographer named Victor Fielding anxiously reaches out to Chris after learning that she’s written a best-seller about her daughter’s demonic possession. Leslie Odom, Jr., who earned a Tony for his performance as Aaron Burr in “Hamilton,” gives it his all as Victor Fielding.
Victor wants Chris’ assistance to deal with his daughter Angela (Lidya Jewett), whose conduct has recently become horrific. Angela has not been the same since she went for a walk with her closest friend Katherine (Olivia O’Neill) in the Georgia woods.
The girls believe they had only been gone for a few hours despite being missing for three days. Then they begin acting as though they are imitating Linda Blair, who levitated and emitted projectile vomit from the first “Exorcist.” The moment Katherine begins chanting “the body and the blood,” her Catholic parents, Jennifer Nettles and Norbert Leo Butz, become quite alarmed.
Chris, played by Burstyn, remarks, “She knows who I am,” hinting that the demon Pazuzu has changed from a he to a she in between movies. Why? Avoid asking. Ann Dowd, who played the evil Aunt Lydia from “Handmaid’s Tale,” steps in for Burstyn to play Katherine’s neighbor Paula, a former nun who hires Father Maddox (E.J. Bonilla) to execute an exorcism.
Also from Haiti, where Victor’s wife was slain in an earthquake and forced him to lose faith, is a demon-banisher by the name of Okwui Okpokwasili. To demonstrate that it takes a village to defeat evil, we interact with people from a variety of religions and ideologies.
Dear brother. This pitch swings at huge ideas but misses them. Too many subplots cause the film to veer off course and lose any momentum that the actors worked so hard to create. The third installment of a trilogy will be titled “The Exorcist: Deceiver.” Don’t let the marketing devils trick you into buying this one. It’s a depraved mess.
