Given the big swings he took with his take on the Halloween series – the foul cries from fans were deafening at times – it stands to reason that writer/director David Gordon Green‘s tackling of such a classic genre piece as The Exorcist won’t be done by the books or to the liking of purists.
And, indeed, The Exorcist: Believer is a different beast than the William Friedkin masterpiece. But, in the film’s defence (and Gordon Green’s), it hasn’t been made to compete in any manner. It doesn’t even try, which is absolutely to Believer‘s benefit, and if you view the film as more a religious thriller then it’s an easier product to swallow as, aside from a few jump scares, this isn’t exactly a “scary movie” in the mould I suspect audiences will be expecting.
Adopting a similar approach to how they reshuffled the Halloween film series timeline by setting the 2018 outing as a direct sequel to the 1978 original – ignoring the numerous sequels that were released in the interim – Gordon Green and frequent collaborator Danny McBride align Believer as the successor to the original Exorcist from 1973; and given that the majority of the sequels that were made over the years were underwhelming (to put it nicely), this decision to undo any of their narratives isn’t such a horrible decision.
A film that almost feels as if it’s tonally divided between a missing person’s drama and a possession thriller, Believer does take a bit too much time in setting up the dynamic between Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom, Jr, quite stellar here) and his 13-year-old daughter, Angela (Lidya Jewett, a real find), after an extended opening that fills us in on a trip to Haiti Victor took prior to Angela’s birth that resulted in the death of his wife. Whilst it’s clear that Angela misses the mother she never knew and has a heft of unanswered questions, there’s an easy sweetness to how she and Victor are portrayed.
Angela being a sweet, inquisitive child is pretty much horror trope 101 for impending nastiness, so when she and her bestie Katherine (Olivia O’Neill) stroll off into the woods after school one day – both creating alibis for where they are with their respective parents – and don’t return home that night, we as an audience aren’t the least bit surprised. After a series of sequences devoted to Victor and Katherine’s parents, Miranda (Jennifer Nettles) and Tony (Norbert Leo Butz), rightfully panicking and throwing light accusations at each other over their parenting habits, the girls surface three days later with no memory of what happened.
It’s around here that the film slowly starts to employ some genre beats, with the two girls individually showing signs of erratic behaviour and ultimate possession; Katherine’s church ramble of “The body and the blood” producing mildly effective results. By this point we’re already aware that both Angela and Katherine have been possessed by a demonic entity of sorts, and though Gordon Green’s script – written with Peter Sattler (Camp X-Ray) – flirts with several interesting story ingredients pertaining to religion, faith and sacrifice, it never wholly commits; the film ultimately settling on a generic wash to please the casual horror watcher.
As the girls surrender to complete possession, Believer‘s back-end commits to a more horror-minded temperament, and, for many, this will prove the film’s strongest section. Though the scares aren’t all that surprising, Gordon Green frames the chaos itself with a confidence that transcends the predictable material, capping off with a nice homage to the infamous head-turning moment from the original.
On the mention of the original, Believer‘s bridge to the 1973 outing comes in the form of a returning Ellen Burstyn as Chris MacNeil, an actress whose daughter quite famously was possessed by the devil half a century prior. Burstyn has repeatedly turned down offers to return to the franchise, so her appearance here alone is enough of a get for the sequel itself and the fans-in-waiting. Ultimately, Burstyn’s appearance is more akin to an extended cameo though, and some of her moments feel a little too on the nose, but she is placed in one of the more memorable set-pieces and I dare say her closing moments should satisfy certain viewers.
After surviving the wrath of many for how he handled his Halloween trilogy, I imagine Gordon Green has a thick enough skin to weather the storm that will arrive from this film’s release. Purists won’t be remotely impressed, and audiences expecting a horror outing will equally leave uninspired, and though all valid, that’s mostly coming from the perspective of this as both a genre piece and continuation to one of the greatest horror films ever made. Viewed better as its own component, under the lens of a religious drama with thriller connotations, The Exorcist: Believer may not entirely equate to the sum of its parts, but proves serviceable nonetheless, thanks to committed performances and a wealth of ideas – however untapped they are.
THREE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The Exorcist: Believer is now screening in Australian theatres.
