The Exorcist: Believer (2023)

It is absolutely wild to me that an Exorcist sequel came out in the year of our Lord 2023. I know I haven’t always been the most up to date on movies, but I had no idea this movie existed until I went looking for a companion franchise for the Paranormal Activity films as part of Paranormal Octoberty. And while Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin–which came out in 2021 and I only learned about it like two years later–is supposed to be a stand-alone film, The Exorcist: Believer wants us to know that they got Ms. Ellen Burstyn. She was in the first movie! And now she’s back! PLEASE WATCH THIS DIRECT SEQUEL AND IGNORE EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC!!

The movie has a strong start. Two girls go into the woods after school to try talking to ghosts and end up disappearing for three days. We focus on her father, Victor (Leslie Odom Jr), responding to one of the worst case scenarios a parent can face. And I like that kind of parental horror–it’s very real while still being the foundation for a movie that will lead to an exorcism. When the girls are found they only remember being gone for three hours, and start acting… different. More grounded, psychological horror–what do you do when a loved ones’ brain stops working the way it’s supposed to?–and eventually Victor gets convinced that his daughter is possessed by a demon. Then the movie just about loses me completely.

This isn’t just a movie about an exorcism! This is a sequel to The Exorcist! And to prove that we got Chris MacNeil back, who wrote a book about her daughter’s ordeal and hasn’t seen Regan since. And her role is… not much, really. She stares down the demon, recognizes it as the same one who possessed her daughter–listed as Lamashtu in the credits, which is… okay, sure–then gets her eyes stabbed out and becomes a footnote. Oh, Regan shows up at the end to forgive her so we have a secret Linda Blair cameo? Barely relevant by that point. As for the exorcism, Victor is joined by a diverse group of differing faiths: a traditional Catholic, a Baptist wannabe megachurch preacher, a Pentecostal borderline snake charmer, and an African rootwork practitioner. No Vodou here, just like we won’t say Pazuzu! They all work together and I just… I don’t buy it. I don’t believe (ha) in the power to unite these disparate sub-factions of faiths without any friction whatsoever. The demon/demons kill the Catholic priest by twisting his head around–admittedly a fun twist on an old classic–and present the families of the girls with a choice: pick one girl to live while the other dies. A united front against this obvious trick is broken by the other girl’s dad, and in response the demon(s) kill that girl and spare Victor’s daughter. Never trust a demon, man!

Also it was about halfway through the movie that I realized Odom Jr’s performance was mainly staring blankly at whatever was going on. Hope he got paid well, I guess.

Sometimes I’ll watch a movie that very clearly wasn’t originally supposed to be part of a horror franchise–Hellraiser: Inferno and, like, half the movies in the Children of the Corn franchise come to mind. But as far as I can tell, Believer was always meant to be a sequel to The Exorcist, even if the connecting elements feel absolutely tacked on. I’d say the movie could’ve worked on its own, but I don’t think the writers knew how to end the story in a way that would feel satisfying (gonna be mean and arbitrarily blame Danny McBride). And now the studio is planning on another movie in 2026? Ugh.

…wait. Mike Flanagan is supposed to write and direct that Exorcist reboot?! Well hot damn, maybe we could get something good out of this franchise of one great movie and a bunch of meh-at-best!

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