Film Review: "The Exorcist: Believer" (2023).

From the director of Halloween Ends comes The Exorcist: Believer. This supernatural horror film directed by David Gordon Green, written by Green and Peter Sattler, and based on the characters created by William Peter Blatty. The sixth installment in The Exorcist franchise, it serves as a direct sequel to The Exorcist (1973). Since the death of his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake twelve years ago, Victor Fielding has raised their daughter, Angela on his own. But when Angela and her friend Katherine, disappear in the woods, only to return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, it unleashes a chain of events that will force Victor to confront the nadir of evil and, in his terror and desperation, seek out the only person alive who has witnessed anything like it before: Chris MacNeil. An actress who has been forever altered by what happened to her daughter Regan five decades before.

In August 2020, it was reported that Morgan Creek Entertainment would be producing a new installment in The Exorcist franchise. A tentative theatrical release window of 2021 was planned by the studio. In December 2020, it was clarified that the project in development would be a sequel to the original film, with Green hired to direct and Blumhouse Productions producing. In July 2021, it was reported that a trilogy of sequels were concurrently in development with Green hired to direct the first of the new installments, from a script he penned with Peter Sattler, from an original story from him, Scott Teems and Danny McBride. The projects are joint-venture productions between Blumhouse and Morgan Creek with Universal Pictures distributing. Universal collaborated with Peacock to purchase distribution rights for $400 million total. Parts two and three of the trilogy were optioned as potential Peacock exclusive films. By October 2021, Green expressed his intentions to direct all three films, with script outlines completed for the latter two films that he co-wrote with Sattler. Prior to acquiring the series' rights from Morgan Creek, the writing team and Blum spent early 2020 devising the story over Zoom. By October 2022, Leslie Odom Jr., Ann Dowd, Jennifer Nettles, Norbert Leo Butz, Lidya Jewett, and Olivia Marcum were cast with Ellen Burstyn reprising her role. Burstyn had turned down reprising her role and was then offered double the salary. She eventually accepted, using the salary to fund an MFA scholarship for actors at Pace University where the Actors Studio teaches the program. Burstyn is a lifelong member of the Actors Studio and a co-president. At the same time, with a budget of $30 million, principal photography commenced and wrapped in February 2023. Filming took place in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia. The film was set for an October 13 release date, before being moved up a week earlier.

The performances pretty much lives up to the direction, writing, and acting -- it's all annoying. Thus, makes the film about as scary as a June wedding.

The material's bizarrely retconned conceptualization, absurd twists, and overall fanfiction quality are self-consciously clever, distractingly so.

Simon says The Exorcist: Believer receives:

Also, see my review for Halloween Ends.