Lesli Odom, Jr. stars as photographer Victor, a single
dad who lost his pregnant wife, played by Tracey Graves, in an earthquake in
Haiti thirteen years ago. His daughter Angela (Lidya Jewett) survived, and now
with the help of her friend Katherine (Olivia O’Neill), wants to try to get in
touch with her late mother through a séance in the woods. The girls are missing
for three days and appear with no memory of what took place over that period,
which to them was only a few hours.
Stone mentioned, “The film’s pacing and narrative up
to this point are impeccable. Many horror movies hastily bridge to the sinister
parts, occasionally leaving potential storylines unexplored. This film’s
beginning, detailing the girls’ disappearance and the resulting parental
despair, masterfully sets the stage for their eventual return. However, this is
where the film stumbles: after reaching this high point, it stagnates instead
of intensifying.”
Angela and Katherine are tested at the local hospital,
and it doesn’t take long for their behavior to show that something uncertain
has happened. Angela attacks her father, and Katherine has a meltdown in the
middle of Sunday service. Victor, along with Katherine’s parents, Miranda
(Jennifer Nettles) and Tony (Norbert Leo Butz), don’t know how to help their
daughters. Victor’s neighbor Paula (Ann Dowd), who also works at the hospital
as a nurse, believes that he contacts someone with experience in this area:
Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn).
Stone said, “As the possession acrobatics begin, we
anticipate things escalating, culminating in a final attempt to exorcise the
spirits from the girls. However, the film’s pacing feels less like an ‘ebb and
flow’ and more like an ‘ebb and slow,’ leaving certain narrative elements
wanting.”
One element that seemed out of place was the language
used during the exorcism and the ritual’s execution. The film’s inclusive approach
was expected, given the modern cultural landscape. However, it felt as if there
was a purposeful effort to keep God at a distance, despite such a presence is essential
to possession horror films.
The absence of the old and young priests we expect in
these films was famous. Stone said, “Despite this fresh take, the narrative
didn’t sufficiently delve into the spiritual aspects to align with the story. Expanding
the world is fine if the worldbuilding is comprehensive. Asking audiences to
detach from the source material in a film intended to broaden the existing
franchise is arduous.” Certain risks taken in a movie that hurts the story of “The
Exorcist” and the possession subgenre have to be done without mistake.
Near the end of the film, Dowd’s character gives a
semi-monologue highlighting strength, flexibility, and persistence. Yet, this
sentiment is not endured. What strength did we see? The film’s second half
doesn’t have substance. The narrative doesn’t give us enough opportunities to
resonate with the story or characters, so the emotional impact was weak when disclosures
extended.
“The Exorcist: Believer” has a few problems that can’t
be ignored. David Gordon Green shows his talent with great scenes and even a
few jump scares. Unfortunately, any good feel that the first half of the film
left was taken by inconsistent pacing, unfinished creation of the environment,
and a splitting conclusion that might make some drawing away from the franchise
completely.
This is another bad entry in the franchise. It may not
be bad as some of the others, but it is still pretty bad. It’s like the magic
that they try to recreate from the original always seems to be attempted, but
it fails. Maybe because that was only something that can be done once and you
can’t capture lighting in a bottle twice. They were trying to make another trilogy,
but now everything has been scrapped, which is a good thing. I think I saw this
on Peacock, but it is currently streaming on Prime. Don’t see it because you
will not like it, I assure you.
Look out this Friday for the continuation of “Candyman
Month.”
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