The Exorcist: Believer (2023) * 1/2

 

Directed by: David Gordon Green

Starring:  Leslie Odom, Jr., Ellen Burstyn, Lidya Jewett, Olivia O'Neill, Jennifer Nettles, Ann Dowd, Raphael Sbarge, Norbert Leo Butz, E.J. Bonilla, Okwui Okpokwasili

I suppose the financial success of the recent Halloween trilogy has spurred David Gordon Green to tackle another famed horror franchise and put his stamp on it.  The Exorcist: Believer only serves to underscore how the original film tackled its story and subject so deftly, while this version trips over itself almost out of the gate.  Believer essentially, but clumsily, tells the same story as the 1973 original, only this time two young girls are possessed by the devil and the final exorcism plays like a checklist of faiths all trying to perform the same ritual.  In 1973, a Catholic priest battles the devil for the soul of an innocent twelve-year-old.  In 2023, we have Catholicism, voodoo, and Christianity (no denomination mentioned) all represented in efforts to thwart Satan.  There's strength in numbers, yes, but this feels like other religions wanting a piece of the action.  

The Exorcist: Believer stars Leslie Odom, Jr. as Victor Fielding, whose daughter Amanda (Jewett) and her best friend Katherine (O'Neill) become demonically possessed after the girls visited the cemetery where Amanda's mother is buried.  They follow a ritual to try and speak to the mother and this seemingly gives Satan an avenue to take over their bodies.  The girls disappear for three days and when discovered are physically healthy, but obviously not in spirit.  When all psychiatric explanations fail, Victor tracks down author Chris McNeil (Burstyn-from the first film), who experienced exorcism firsthand when her daughter Regan (Blair) was possessed fifty years ago.  

Chris is brought aboard to assist with the case.   She is not an exorcist, mind you, but she has experience with these things.  Her daughter's absence is chalked up to estrangement from Chris.  Soon, after Chris is blinded after being attacked by Amanda, and she spends the rest of the movie on the sidelines in a hospital bed.  Ellen Burstyn's involvement is limited to an extended cameo.  Her presence only further causes us to think about how superior the original film was compared to this dull retread.