The Exorcist: Believer (2023) Review

A staple in the timeline of influential genre pieces, William Friedkin’s directorial of William Peter Blatty’s undeniably iconic 1973’s The Exorcist cemented itself then and now as one of cinema’s most terrifying experiences. Lacing its tense descent into devilish mayhem with a palpable sense of dread and unshakably unsettling scenes of possession and torment. Nothing in a similar lane have ever been able to come close to the rattling experience of this classic, nor do any of us predict any will ever overtake its greatness any time soon; or ever for that matter.

The Exorcist can exist on a thrown of its own, and rightly so, solidifying itself as a true individual who’s formula can never fully be emulated, or at least emulated successfully. Many have come, many have tried, and many have fallen flat on arrival, with exceptions to the likes of The Last Exorcism or the surprisingly entertaining The Cleansing Hour. Even within the barriers of its own franchise, all but the exception of The Exorcist III are pretty much hot garbage; so the question is, how does David Gordon Green’s entry fair against the rest?

Taking place decades after the events of the first film, two school friends Angela and Katherine go missing after wondering into the woods alone together. Angela’s widowed Father Victor and Katherine’s parents begin their search for their daughters, finding them four days later with no recollection of what had happened. Soon after their return, both daughters begin behaving in a strange manner, becoming increasingly more frantic and unhinged as the days pass. Aided by his religious neighbour, Victor learns that their daughters are possessed, and following the lead made by Regan’s mum Chris MacNeil, a new exorcism book publisher, Victor and Katherine’s parents prepare to exorcise their possessed daughters as a means of saving them from evil’s grasp.

After delivering what to me was a mostly successful exercise in experimenting with well-worn lore with the new Halloween trilogy, David Gordon Green has gone on to earn a mostly unfavourable name for himself, and since the highly underrated, unfairly detested Halloween Ends (yes I like it, sue me), it’s safe to say most genre fans were nervous at the thought of him tampering with another well-established franchise. Whilst the sound of a new Exorcist was certainly a mouth-watering one, it was easy to imagine Green taking the original’s stable foundations and reconstructing it with bizarre results. The Exorcist: Believer to everyone’s surprise is the complete opposite of this; a bafflingly tame attempt at resurrecting the franchise with almost zero risk and zero scares.

The Exorcist: Believer is a telling example of a director who was scorned for venturing beyond a franchise’s traditional tropes, resulting in an experience that fails to trek into territory that feels even remotely original. A hotpot of familiar ideas stirred together to create an overly familiar experience, one you could have a very hard time differentiating from the rest in its ilk. The possession sub-genre traditionally sticks by it’s own set of rules, and rarely colours outside the lines, but it’s here where Green should have utilised his obscure eye and delivered something unlike the rest, willing to take the big swing and knock it out of the park. Instead however, we get a game at the bowling alley with the bumpers up; occasionally fun and engaging, but also deprived of any real thrill.

Nothing here is inherently bad per say, and the combination of ingredients will work in every decade with every audience, but where Believer truly falters is in its shocking inability to deliver at least one decent scare. Somewhat sacrilegious, The Exorcist: Believer struggles to terrifying in any sense beyond over edited jump scares designed to ensure you haven’t nodded off. A true essence of what makes a scene scary Green seems to lack, slicing every scene with such urgency you could mistake it for a Paul W.S. Anderson Resident Evil sequel. Green forgets the subtly that carried the original, and whilst it was undeniably graphic in it’s torment on Regan, there was still an elegance to its lingering terror, something we are never given the opportunity to feel. Having an Exorcist film that lacks in fear factor is the equivalent of indulging in a zero percent sugar ice cream – fine as a substitute, overly manufactured and quick to turn bland; everything Believer is.

Whilst it’s completely inept in its ability to scare, Believer does take it’s time with its own lore, treating us to a strong first hour of sturdy character building and story unravelling. Taking it’s time to let us bask in its ambience, we’re never dragged to the finish line, more left to linger until the true exorcism ensues. Whilst this does restrict more room for frights, it’s ultimately a well-paced unwind that unfortunately doesn’t lead to much else. Believer falls apart at the seams when the final act plays out; an over-stimulation of choppy editing, snarling children and a booming sound design. It’s never downright terrible, or unwatchable, but can’t help and remind you of all the other times an exorcism was adequately more captivating than this.

References to the franchises history are there to be seen and not spoiled, so for that I will remain silent, but aside from a small handful of throwbacks to the original, The Exorcist: Believer achieves little to warrant it’s presence in 2023. Entirely bereft of spooks, David Gordon Green fails to capitalise on what made the 1973 original one of the scariest films in cinema history, blundering its own narrative potential with a parade of cheap jump scares, frantic editing and ultimately becoming a scare-less portrayal of child possession. There is no denying Green’s style is creatively brisk and beautiful, but beneath Believer‘s skin exists little more than a hollow shell of a grander concept. First in a trilogy? Let’s hope the only way is up.

Movie Rating:

The Exorcist: Believer trailer