Antonio Jackson
Variety Editor
*SPOILER ALERT*
The sixth installment of the “Exorcist” series, which came with high expectations, was released on Oct. 6, 2023.
This supernatural horror film “The Exorcist: Believer” was distributed by Universal Pictures and directed by David Gordon Green.
The plot starts In Haiti, following a photographer Victor Fielding, played by Leslie Odom Jr., and his pregnant wife Sorenne, played by Tracey Graves. The couple are on their honeymoon until a devastating earthquake erupts, destroying the entire town.
Sorenne, fatally injured, begs Victor to protect their unborn daughter, Angela, played by Lidya Jewett. Paramedics tell Victor he must choose to save either his wife or his child.
Fast forward years later, Victor would lose Christian faith due to his wife’s death and would raise their daughter on his own in Georgia. One day after school, Angela ventures into the woods with her best friend Katherine, played by Olivia O’Neill to perform a ritual in order to attempt to contact Angela’s mother in the afterlife.
Victor would soon discover that his daughter has gone missing and contacts Katherine’s parents, Miranda and Tony, in hopes of finding her. After both sets of parents realize the situation, a three-day manhunt would take place in hopes of finding their children.
The girls are found in a barn on the third day. Besides being obviously traumatized, Angela and Kathrine seemed normal at the beginning. However, as the days go by, several signs would show that there’s more than meets the eye.
Throughout the film, the cinematography does a subpar job in attempting to convince the audience that they are watching a horror film. All of the tropes and scares that were used throughout the movie were very predictable and cheesy. The visual effects were impressive but it doesn’t do much in making the movie “scary”.
There’s just something about the plot that I couldn’t get myself fully immersed into. It’s almost like I’ve seen all the ideas the movie tried to throw at the audience before.
From the man losing a significant person in their life resulting in them viewing a certain idea negatively, to the child losing a parent and yearning to connect with them in some way, every single aspect about the plot just screamed unoriginality.
Even the jump scares and the horror aspects of the movie were done too many times before. Admittedly, “The Exorcist: Believer” got a couple screams out of me half of the time. However, whenever the film did scare me, I was more so disappointed than impressed that I was able to be frightened. I can even remember falling asleep at the most pinnacle moment of the film where it was supposed to be the scariest. That is a big problem that should not exist.
Some critiques I have that would improve “The Exorcist: Believer” for me personally is going with a more original plot.
Maybe create a plot centering around someone or a group who are Satanists. Have them try to perform a ritual with the intent of being possessed, but once they’ve realized they are in over their heads, they turn to a church in order to save them from their own ignorance.
Another critique I have is to get more creative with the horror scenes. Flickering lights and off-screen quickness is good, but as stated, it’s been used time and time again.
One technique I’ve seen done not too often is create suspense and tension but provide no climax or jump scare in this instance. This would result in making the audience so uncomfortable that they would be constantly on edge hoping that something would pop out.
However, that’s the point, nothing would happen, therefore the suspense would carry over in moments where you would expect things to be calm.
Overall, “The Exorcist: Believer” falls short in delivering a satisfying horror experience the series was known for giving.
