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The Exorcist: Believer (2023)

 


The Exorcist: Believer is another attempt by David Gordon Green to bring back old classics and make them new again.

I wonder if history will be favorable with director Green. In the past, he has done a disservice to Michael Myers and before that, he was probably best known for Pineapple Express. Before you ask if I might have had some bias going into the film, I didn't know Green directed the film till a few minutes ago. That being said I'm cautious about the sequel that was greenlit for him.

The main victim in the movie is played by Lidya Jewett who has some great makeup put on her and she does her best to impersonate Linda Blair but I couldn't but get distracted by her huge forehead. Look her up and you'll see that her forehead is half of her whole head.

Leslie Odom Jr. has the biggest part in the film. While the original exorcist focused on the priest this time the focus is on the father. He delivered the lines that were written for him well but I would have liked to see some reshoots from Green or at least better editing. Neither of which was Odom's fault. 

Ellen Burstyn returns as Chris MacNeil, only this time her dialogue is written to add in virtue signaling and political statements about how things were fifty years ago. Her character adds little to the movie other than to ease the transition for Odom to become a believer.

The "horror" film has one scary scene and it's just a stolen scene from James Wan's Insidious. In terms of enjoyment, the film is still better than Joy Ride but more eye-rolling than Inside. That lands the film right between resulting in a D+. It's pretty bad.

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