What’s the point of a new Exorcist movie in 2023, 50 years after the original film? For the studio, the answer is easy: This is a famous brand that could be reinvigorated the same way Halloween was in recent years. For David Gordon Green, the director responsible for both that Halloween revival as well as The Exorcist: Believer, the answer isn’t so clear–at least not from watching the movie.
On paper, this new Exorcist sequel should be interesting. It was co-written by Green’s Halloween trilogy collaborator Danny McBride, star and creator of HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones, of which nine episodes have been directed by Green. These are folks you would think have some things to say about this subject matter. But while The Righteous Gemstones lampoons evangelical Christian culture at every opportunity, Believer has nothing but respect for all religious establishments. It’s a little bit puzzling, to say the least.
The Exorcist: Believer centers on Victor (played with a mesmerizing almost-stoicism by Leslie Odom Jr.) and his daughter Angela (Lidya Jewett)–Angela’s mother died giving birth after being massively injured during an earthquake in Haiti, and the tragic circumstances of her birth linger with Angela. So Angela takes her mom’s old earrings, and she and her friend Katherine go off into the woods to try some kind of seance. It’s not even really that serious of a thing–the two are laughing at themselves while Angela tries to talk to the earring.