THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
The Exorcist has been deemed as one of the best horror movies ever made for its bold storytelling. And as you would expect from Hollywood, its legacy was tampered with thanks to a debatable franchise that came afterwards. With a 50 year evolution of filmmaking, I don’t think anyone expected anything to be as interesting as the re-quel Believer.
PLOT
The film follows widowed photographer Victor Fielding taking care of his daughter Angela on his own after his wife Sorenne died in a massive earthquake attack 13 years prior. One day, Angela and her friend Katherine West go missing for three days after entering the woods to perform a sèance. Once the two are found, they seem to not have been assaulted and the only injury they share is burnt feet from all the walking they’ve done. After coming home, Angela would start convulsing and attack her dad, whereas Katherine would have an outburst at church. Unsure what to do, Victor commits her daughter to a hospital while Katherine’s parents, Miranda & Tony, try tending to her at their home. With the recent turn of events, Miranda is sure a demon followed the girls home. Victor’s nurse neighbor Ann Brooks would confirm the girls are possessed when Angela would taunt her of a past abortion she had as a prospective nun. She also shows him a memoir written by actress Chris MacNeil, who wrote about her daughter Regan being possessed in 1973. Ever since the incident, she has been devoted studying exorcisms from different cultures, but the memoir would cause her to be distant with her daughter. Victor does reach out to her for help and also confirms Angela’s predicament. But when she later tries perform a deliverance ritual on Katherine, the possessed girl would retaliate by stabbing her eyes out with a cross, blinding her. As the former actress is forced to recuperate at the hospital, she suggests Victor to use multiple methods to save the girls. Apart from Ann, the group that takes part in saving the children include: Baptist pastor Don Revans (Raphael Sbarge), Victor’s neighbor Stuart (Danny McCarthy) who is a Pentecostal preacher and his friend Dr. Beehide (Okwui Okpokwasili), who is a footwork healer. Local priest Father Maddox (EJ Bonilla) would hesitantly join when the local Church diocese forbade him performing an exorcism, believing the girls to be mentally ill. As each person performs their respected rituals, the demon controlling both children tells their parents they must choose who will be sacrificed between the two. By the time Father Maddox performs a Romanic ritual, the demon quickly retaliates by snapping his neck. And during the exorcism, it also calls out Victor for originally wanting to save his wife over his child at the time. He chooses to redeem himself by giving her Sorenne’s scarf, knowing that all she wanted was to connect with her mother. Just when he gives his daughter a chance to overcome the demon, Tony eventually chooses Katherine. Instead of killing Angela, it takes his daughter to hell instead. When the police are called to the scene, Victor reunites with Angela while the Wests mourn for their loss. Some time after this, both families would try to transition to life before the trauma. When being questioned by the authorities, Ann declares faith makes people stronger. The film would end Chris being visited by Regan for the first time in years.
THOUGHTS
There was a fair share of doubt that was felt upon announcement of this film due to Director David Gordon Green previously making a mixed bag of Blumhouse’s Halloween trilogy. Because I know horror sequels are bound to debatable, it didn’t surprise me for others to feel this way. So I went in with low expectations to avoid disappointment and that worked out for me. This film will not be what was done in 1973 and it knows that. But it doesn’t mean it will try to shock you with its storytelling, which it does in said fashion. If you’re not paying attention to the chilling score by David Wingo & Amman Abbasi, the editing/cinematography combo by Timothy Alverson & Michael Simmonds will make clear that this story is where the world is full of terror. The jump scares do land because it’s never not gonna be terrifying where children become possessed and act monstrously. While this movie has its handful of issues storywise that damage its quality, which I’ll get to later, I think there is still a payoff in which we must remember to never give up on what you believe in because your beliefs like hope can help overcome the power of evil. If your feeling of hope comes from whatever religion you practice, then you use it to stand tall. That is the central lesson you learn when focusing on the diverse ensemble. From the start, Leslie Odom Junior portrays Victor as one who gave up on religion because it brought nothing but pain for him. The loss of his wife broke him because she was the best thing to ever happen to him. He knew he was selfish when he chose her over his baby girl because it backfired and had to live with it. He couldn’t dare to tell Angela about Sorenne because he would only be reminded of the mistake he made. When things took a turn for the worst, he had to do everything he could think of to save the only family he had, hence reaching out to Chris and allowing multiple practices to be involved in the exorcism. When he finally gave back the scarf, that was his epiphany to never disconnect the past or the memories will fade away. Once his daughter got the blessing to come back, he’s not gonna waste any minute to make her happy. As said before, the turn of events occurred because of his lack of connection and that is where you cannot blame the curious girls who wanted to just that. Lidya Jewett was just an optimistic kid who wanted to connect with her mom, knowing her dad wasn’t budging and chose to irrational to do what she felt like she had to. And Olivia O’Neill warmed our hearts originally when portraying Katherine as a helpful friend, willing to give Angela the connection she desired. Had they reached out to a professional, things would not have happened the way they did. The 180 they go through from innocent children to vile demons in stunning and the makeup they have on to show off the transformation was breathtaking. And there is no doubt of Helen Laehey, Christopher Allen Nelson & J Moliere sound just as disturbing as the demon is supposed to be when voicing over the children. Norbert Leo Butz & Jennifer Nettles definitely sell on respectively making Tony & Miranda very loving towards Katherine and their younger twin pair of Hannah (Norah Murphy) & Tyler (Rory Gross). The difference they have from Victor is how their religion gives them a feeing of superiority which vanishes by the time the possession starts on the kids. Then the couple would start differing from each other because while Miranda comes off strong willed as things worsen, Tony starts acting hopeless, leading to an unforgivable decision. Since he knows how deceptive a devil can be, he should’ve known a trick would’ve been hanging from the sleeve. You don’t want to look at his decision as selfish because he wants to save his daughter, but it still is because he was willing to sacrifice someone he didn’t know. And because of this personal thought, he has to live with his mistake for the rest of his life. Another standout performance I appreciated from this film was Ann Dowd as the neighbor Ann. At first you wanna brush off her presence when she comes off as a nosy neighbor. That is until the layers are peeled and we understand how different she is from others. She is someone who gave up on faith based on her past actions. However, she was able to endure from it and although she never talked about her past until it was necessary, she was a stronger person than people realized. Once she had an idea of what can be done to save the girls, she paved the way for Victor to regain his faith. Her speech at the end was indeed heartwarming because there is nothing but truth to each sentence. As long as you have the will to believe in yourself, you can overcome the evil that gets in your way. Seeing Stuart and company come together, you want to make a joke and call them the Holy Avengers. But then again, that was the point because this demon clearly packed a punch and no one was prepared for what would come from a combined exorcism. The thought of trying everything you know is a respectable way to process things and I don't see a problem with them doing so. Since this is a legacy sequel, you know familiar faces had to return for nostalgic purposes. The legendary Ellen Burstyn makes it worthwhile in returning as Chris 50 years later. She’s a very passionate character because she wants to help others the way she couldn’t help her own daughter. Had she been more cautious upon meeting Katherine, since she is not a professional with exorcisms, she would’ve gotten to continue with sight. The advice she gives to Victor to embrace religion was the best she could give it would’ve not led to Angela being saved. I don’t blame Regan for disliking the memoir because she doesn’t want to be reminded of the trauma she went through. But after her mother’s accident, she was reminded of her good intentions, leading to a satisfying cameo from Linda Blair. My respect for this movie is nothing but honest, but that feeling does not undo the issues I had storywise. For instance, Haiti is known to be the hotspot for earthquakes. So why would Victor get a top floor hotel room? I mean that is bound to set his wife up for danger which it did. Also, why would Katherine keep secret of being friends with Angela? It's not like her parents came off as racists but if that was the point, that should've been clearer. And let's be honest, it was a little rude for Stuart to let Beehide in without Victor's permission. It may have been the point since he would've turned them down instantly, but it would've not hurt trying that first. And if he did, that should've been clear as well. And did anyone notice the crack on the glass Angela made when she slammed her hand before being checked out? If they did and no one said anything, that is just absurd. Moving on, why didn't the Wests keep their eyes on Katherine at church? That was like her fast day out in public and they don't have the caution to keep her close which is more stupid than Don Revans putting her on the spot before the outburst. I don't want to make a stretch, but it's wild for Victor to not have been concussed when Angela smacked his head on the bedframe. She had a lot of strength to bring him down the way she did. To wrap up, The Exorcist: Believer is one of the boldest horror sequels for having an important theme wild holding back on the brutality that defined its iconic predecessor. If the 1973 classic is what made you love and/or respect horror movies, good luck getting through this one.
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