‘The Exorcist Believer’: You’ve Seen Worse, You Know You Have!

Victor (Leslie Odom Jr.) is a widower raising his teenage daughter, Angela (Lidya Jewett). After performing a seance with her friend Katherine (Olivia O’Neill), the two girls disappear in the woods for three days and come back decidedly more evil than they had been previously. It’s up to Victor, Katherine’s parents Tony (Norbert Leo Butz) and Miranda (Jennifer Nettles), Chris, the mother of the possessed girl from the very first film (Ellen Burstyn reprises her role), and a spunky coalition of religious leaders to save the day.

I didn’t go looking for other opinions, but the hatred for the movie is pretty loudly broadcast. I didn’t see what all the hubbub is about, though. Well, William Friedkin was pretty pissed off, but he hated all the other sequels too, even the arguably quite watchable Legion. I thought the first hour was really solid. I had a cup of coffee in the kitchen I very much wanted to drink, but I was too enthralled to either pause or make a quick run for it. After the first hour, it turns to poo for a bit, then comes back strong for the close. A lot of mainstream horror movies have that uneven feel of a team of writers that can’t agree on what they want to say, and a lot of them can’t even deliver a good ending.

People were also griping that it’s just a cheap remake, but the filmmakers put forth an effort to make this its own movie while skillfully tying it to the original. There aren’t a barrage of look-alike shots, no spider-walk, no peeing on the floor, no one in a fedora standing in front of the house. They do copy the quick, subliminal shots from the director’s cut released in the early aughts, there’s a distraught teen shrieking obscenities, and you bet your ass there’s a spinning head, but overall it’s pretty creative.

Personally, I’m a sucker for the cast. Leslie Odom Jr. is always phenomenal–I’m a major Hamilton nerd. Ann Dowd–the consummate creepy lady–in this one the creepy lady makes good! Ellen Burstyn is a national treasure–have you seen Requiem for a Dream? If you haven’t, I’ll wait. Speaking of Burstyn, this is my approximation of how she got involved: Studio exec [Let’s picture him as Ryan George]: “Be in my movie. Here’s money.” Burstyn: “Nah.” Studio exec: “Here’s a metric fuckton of money.” Burstyn: “Okay. But I’m giving it to charity. Also, I don’t want to have to do a lot of stuff.” Who cares if it’s stunt casting? She delivers her horrendous dialogue like a badass! And I honestly got choked up when Linda Blair pops in at the end.

I had a feeling throughout of grudgingly liking the unintentionally silly parts. There’s just something that tickles me about two snarky teenage demons mocking a grouchy nurse for having an abortion: Possessed Katherine [pouting]: “You were to honor your mother with a child in her name.” [fake cries] Possessed Angela: “Did the power of Christ compel you?” And the scene with all the religious folks coming together for a big group exorcism! A Baptist, a Pentecostal, a Catholic, and a Rootwork healer…it sounds like a “walk into a bar” joke. It’s just too precious. The filmmakers try to put forth a theme of “The power of Christ speaks through all of us,” but during the exorcism when the Catholic priest shows up belatedly, everyone looks relieved.

It was a weird coincidence at twenty-one minutes to the end when my ten-year-old came back from visiting friends saying his stomach hurt, and then he promptly projectile vomited all over the floor. Thankfully, he’s not possessed. Unless you count being obsessed with Fortnite as possession. Anywho, check it out if you’re in the mood for something competently made and even trying to approach diversity.