Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 28: The Exorcist: Believer (2023)

I decided to watch The Exorcist: Believer because I had just re-watched The Exorcist II: The Heretic in preparation for watching the documentary Boorman and the Devil, and realized, despite seeing all the other Exorcist sequel and prequel movies, I had not bothered with this one. Which is odd. Of course this one got terrible reviews, but so did those two prequel versions, and I watched both of those. So why did I skip this one, especially knowing that both Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair make appearances in it? 

I really don't have an answer to that aside from I think I just forgot that this one even existed! 

Too bad it didn't stay that way.

It is truly not a good movie. David Gordon Green was building a career on franchise reboots (though I think Mike Flanagan may be taking over those reins, with his Carrie series, and his own upcoming Exorcist movie, which is looking like if Seven and The Exorcist had a baby), and I think Believer killed that trajectory. The two further sequels that were planned were killed after this movie tanked at the box office.

It's your basic Exorcist set-up, but this time with two teenage girls instead of one, and three different religions in on the exorcism, instead of just Catholics (though, spoiler, it takes a Catholic priest to get true results). There are some good actors in it, including Leslie Odom and Ann Dowd, but they can't save themselves from the silly script. And I hope Ellen Burstyn got a fat check for her small role because what she's put through in this one is brutal. Finally, for the record, The Exorcist III still holds the title as the only good Exorcist follow-up.

I watched The Exorcist: Believer on Peacock.