50 years ago, The Exorcist (The exorcist) traumatized the public, who asked for more. Huge critical and popular success, event film, phenomenon, William Friedkin’s masterpiece turned heads, literally, and marked the history of cinema. Since then, there have been sequels, prequels, and many copies of varying quality. Late continuation, The Exorcist, Believer (The exorcist, the believer) attempts to resurrect the saga. What begins as a pale imitation quickly turns into a distressing debacle. This horror is truly blasphemous.
It’s David Gordon Green who, having barely finished his very uneven reboot (another) of the series Halloween, directs and co-writes. Green evidently studied the construction of the screenplay by William Peter Blatty, who adapted his own novel at the time.
A prologue taking place in Haiti replaces the famous one camped in Iraq. Today, like yesterday, a threat looms…
Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn), a divorced actress and single mother of a 12-year-old child, Regan (Linda Blair), succeeds as protagonist Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom Jr.), a widowed photographer and father of a 13-year-old girl. years old, Angela (Lydia Jewett). As a result, you need more of everything: more action (yes), more thrills (no)… In this case, that translates into two possessed young girls.
The second is Angela’s friend, Katherine. After being missing for three days, they reappeared unharmed. However, they soon exhibit worrying personality changes.
As in 1973, science is overwhelmed by the situation: room for religion.
Scattered plot
The winks and homages to The Exorcist follow one another: this shot of wild dogs fighting, the sequences of painful medical examinations, the visit to a psychiatric hospital, the almost subliminal appearance of a demonic appearance, etc. We recognize the abrupt cuts during editing, the sound effects…
In short, David Gordon Green studied William Friedkin’s staging with maniacal care as well, which remains, without pun intended, diabolically brilliant. Initially, we appreciate Green’s desire to recreate an aesthetic close to that of Friedkin’s film.
This doesn’t last: quickly, the style becomes indistinguishable from the impersonal style of a whole bunch of generic horror films.
Once the two teenage girls are found, the plot is scattered between a host of barely sketched secondary characters. The decision-making process which culminates in a request for an exorcism is presented in a chaotic manner, far removed from the rigor observed in the original work.
This sequel does not have an iota of the transgressive charge of yesteryear, nor an ounce of its visceral impact. Unable to instill a feeling of anxiety and then make it last, unlike his model, Green also resorts to lazy bursts. But this is a venial sin.
Without tension
What is unforgivable, however, is the treatment reserved for Ellen Burstyn, who agreed to reprise her role as Chris MacNeil — something she had refused to do for Psychotronics Exorcist II: The Heretic (The Exorcist II: The Heretic), by John Boorman, in 1977.
Just like he did with Jamie Lee Curtis in his second Halloween, Green relegates the venerable actress to a hospital bed for most of her participation, not before having previously treated her character in an extremely cavalier manner on a narrative level. That’s a cardinal sin.
As an apotheosis, the film belatedly tries to be original by including various religions and beliefs in the ritual, for as many spiritual representatives. In theory, the idea is excellent. In practice, it’s a different story. Long and devoid of tension, this last act is sometimes pitiful, particularly with its ill-advised use of smoke effects in poor quality digital imaging.
However, there are worse things. In fact, David Gordon Green has already announced that he will shoot, as for Halloween, a trilogy. At this point, it would take a miracle for this abomination that is The Exorcist, Believer or without a future. All that remains is to pray.