"The Exorcist: Believer" was released on Oct. 5, taking place 50 years after the original was released in 1973. This horror classic is being brought back to life the same way "Halloween" was in recent years.
David Gordon Green, the director responsible for the newer "Halloween" trilogy and "The Exorcist: Believer," is doing justice to horror fans, but just how good is this new movie and does it stack up to the original?
Synopsis
"The Exorcist: Believer" focuses on Victor, played incredibly by Leslie Odom Jr., and his daughter Angela, played by Lidya Jewett. Angela's mother passed away while giving birth to her after a violent earthquake shook Haiti at the beginning of the film. Even though Angela has never met her mother, it troubles her greatly, like any daughter without her mother. Eventually, Angela takes her mom's old bracelet and jewelry, and she and her friend Katherine go off into the woods to try to communicate with spirits and possibly her dead mother. They both go missing and, after three days, are found in a barn some 30 miles away from where they initially went missing. Now being found, they begin to exhibit the symptoms of demonic possession and, after exhausting psychiatric treatments, are soon in dire need of an exorcism, creating the plot.
Highs
Leslie Odom Jr. was one of the main highlights of this film. He brought a stoicism to the role of Victor, combined with a fatherly empathy towards his daughter. You really feel for him after he loses his wife and becomes a widowed father. Victor is eventually led to Chris McNeil, the mother of the possessed Regan from the original movie, played by the great Ellen Burstyn. Her scenes, although few and short, are definitely action-packed and entertaining. The makeup and visual effects were also a highlight of this movie. It comes as no shock that horror movies today are much more visually enticing than they were back then due to the evolution of cinematography and visual effects. "The Exorcist: Believer" definitely capitalizes on this advantage it has over the original. Also, the acting of the two possessed girls was a plus for this movie. They captured the terror and abrupt violence you would expect from someone possessed and really sold the performance.
Lows
The lows of this movie had most to do with its pacing. At times, scenes felt somewhat rushed. For example, the entire exorcism sequence felt squeezed into the last 20 minutes of the film with over an hour of build up. Also, there was no priest present during the exorcism scene, which may leave fans of the original somewhat disappointed, and there were many useless characters simply standing around during that whole sequence, which took away from the atmosphere a bit. Another low was the inclusion of two possessed girls instead of one like the original. It felt unnecessary and somewhat scattered, and it took away from the focus that otherwise would’ve been there with just one girl.
Verdict
Overall, it was a good horror movie, but an "Exorcist" film should be more than that. It should have had a more seamless build up and more psychological elements.
Rating: 6.5/10
Mariam Fakhreddine is a film and theater reviewer for The Eastern Echo. She has worked as a news and features reporter for The Echo for two years.
