Rating: 1.5 out of 5
“The Exorcist: Believer” was released in theaters on Oct. 13, as a sequel to “The Exorcist,” which is regarded by many film critics as the scariest movie ever made. The new movie’s unoriginal plot, its uninspiring acting, and lackluster special effects earn this movie a skip.
The plot revolves around Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom Jr.) attempting to cure his daughter Angela (Lydia Jewett) and her friend Katherine (Olivia O’Neill) of a mysterious illness that befalls them after they went missing in a nearby forest for three days. Soon, Victor discovers that both girls have been possessed by an unknown demon and that the only way for Victor to get his daughter back is to perform the rite of exorcism.
The film’s attempts at horror are ineffective and underwhelming. As someone who has watched several demonic possession movies, this movie repeats everything I have seen before, executed worse than its predecessors. For example, the setting of the film lacked the dark and grim mood expected of a movie like this. The tone of the film was more sad than frightening. You feel bad for the characters, but not scared. The build-up to the climax barely includes horror except for some cheap jumpscares and scary makeup.
Furthermore, the acting in this film is average. Lydia Jewett and Olivia O’Neill have underwhelming performances, as you would expect from inexperienced child actors. However, Leslie Odom Jr. succeeded at making his character likable. His character charmed me and was one of the few highlights of this movie. The rest of the actors’ performances are forgettable and are unworthy of recognition, although that may be because the script limited the actors and did not allow them to portray much emotion with their characters other than the bare minimum needed to advance the plot.
One thing this movie does better than previous movies in its genre, is the pacing of its plot, which continues at a reasonable pace and hardly stalls. While most modern demonic horror movies have a specific problem where they include scary scenes that serve no purpose to the plot, every scene in “The Exorcist: Believer” adds value to the story.
Still, the movie had the potential to be much better if the script had developed some ideas that it had hinted at but not explored. For example, halfway through the film, it was implied that both girls went to hell for three days before returning to earth, alluding to the death of Jesus Christ and his subsequent return three days later. However, this was merely implied through dialogue, even though showing the two girls in hell would have been much more interesting. The exorcism in the third act of the movie was extremely confusing, with too many characters involved for different reasons, causing the climactic battle to lose its impact. Missed opportunities like these leave the audience unsatisfied and itching for a proper horror experience.
I would not recommend this movie to anyone, even to fans of “The Exorcist” franchise. If you are a fan of the original film, “The Exorcist,” just rewatch that movie and save yourself the trouble of watching “The Exorcist: Believer.” The movie is not scary, the script is unoriginal, and the acting is mostly mediocre.