The Exorcist: Believer (2023)

[Eric the Fall Guy]

Discuss!

[abracadabra1998]

My Letterboxd review (2 out of 5 stars):

 

Its biggest problem, for all its claims of reverence of the original, is in how much it misunderstands the 1973 masterpiece. That movie was as much a possession horror as it was a film about the horrors of knowing that your child is going through something while being ignored, downplayed, or gaslit by professionals. It also briefly touches on the horrors of mental institutes, and while I don’t necessarily share that thinking, it claims that faith still has a place in a world of so much science and machines; it is something that has always been, and still can be, a relief.

 

This film takes all those ideas and tries to imitate them, instead of trying to look at the world of today and the new realities we live in. It’s a cheap imitation too (a way out of place trauma medical scene, a way out of place mental health institute scene, you see where I’m going with this). The first one, even 50 years later, feels so transgressive, and this one feels so… not?

 

It does a good job of setting up a dreary atmosphere in the first half, and it does capture the horrors of parents who are looking for their children quite well (even if that narrative thread feels like something out of the 80s). The performances are good (the kids knock it out of the park, and I always appreciate Leslie Odom Jr.‘s presence), and I even appreciate the various denominations approach to the exorcism; that part does feel thoughtful and intentional, and a reflection of the better knowledge and care of our religious diversity. 

 

I just wish the execution wasn’t so laughably bad

[Claire of Themyscira]

On 10/22/2023 at 9:44 AM, abracadabra1998 said:

My Letterboxd review (2 out of 5 stars):

 

Its biggest problem, for all its claims of reverence of the original, is in how much it misunderstands the 1973 masterpiece. That movie was as much a possession horror as it was a film about the horrors of knowing that your child is going through something while being ignored, downplayed, or gaslit by professionals. It also briefly touches on the horrors of mental institutes, and while I don’t necessarily share that thinking, it claims that faith still has a place in a world of so much science and machines; it is something that has always been, and still can be, a relief.

 

This film takes all those ideas and tries to imitate them, instead of trying to look at the world of today and the new realities we live in. It’s a cheap imitation too (a way out of place trauma medical scene, a way out of place mental health institute scene, you see where I’m going with this). The first one, even 50 years later, feels so transgressive, and this one feels so… not?

 

It does a good job of setting up a dreary atmosphere in the first half, and it does capture the horrors of parents who are looking for their children quite well (even if that narrative thread feels like something out of the 80s). The performances are good (the kids knock it out of the park, and I always appreciate Leslie Odom Jr.‘s presence), and I even appreciate the various denominations approach to the exorcism; that part does feel thoughtful and intentional, and a reflection of the better knowledge and care of our religious diversity. 

 

I just wish the execution wasn’t so laughably bad

Ooh, you clocked it.