Review: ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ Misses the Point
David Gordon Green makes another disappointing legacy sequel with his 2023 Exorcist film
The exorcism is not the point of William Friedkin’s 1973 masterpiece The Exorcist (reviewed here, in full, last October if you prefer reading about good films). Sure, it’s in the title and the film is built upon it as a climactic moment, but the exorcism itself is not the point of the film.
This is important to keep in mind when watching David Gordon Green’s limp 2023 legacy sequel, The Exorcist: Believer. Not only does Gordon Green not seem to understand this fact about the original film — that the exorcism is not the real point of the film — he also seems to only have an interest in creating Demonic and supernatural scares, not in his characters.
Friedkin’s excellent original is so effective and so great because it prioritises its characters above all else. Not only do we care for the parent of the possessed child (Chris MacNeil in the original and Victor Fielding in Gordon Green’s film), but in the original we also care for Regan (the possessed child) and, above all else, we care massively for Father Karras (Jason Miller). Friedkin’s film has two focuses, really — one half of it is about the horrifying discomfort and the fear of the unknown that Chris has for…
