The Exorcist: Believer

There are moments in this borderline incoherent mess of a movie in which fans may be convinced that its sole purpose is to try making the original follow-up, 1977’s legendarily godawful Exorcist II: The Heretic, look positively genius by comparison.

They need to stop making Exorcist movies. We don't need any more!

A rock solid first half -- character-driven, strong build of dread, and successful at conveying the sheer terror of watching a loved one, especially a child, slip away & feeling helpless in the fight to get them back. But then it becomes a forced sequel.

It never gets close to recreating the miasmic chill of William Friedkin’s 1973 classic, or generating any fresh frights of its own.

... To tackle a prestige project that’s steeped in Christian iconography and biblical allusions by simply defanging it with kindness is beyond pointless.

It requires a rare ineptitude to take what is famously one of the most terrifying movies ever made, recycle pretty much everything (including Tubular Bells on the score) but neglect to include the scares.

Sacrilegious to the original and apparently the first of a proposed trilogy, it will be hard to keep faith beyond this lacklustre entry.

The Exorcist: Believer asks us not to put our faith in any specific dogma but rather in people, in love, and in the fact that your neighbor is experiencing pain, and no matter what you believe, THAT is real.

The outcome is a qualified success – a horror feature that tries to say something profound about good and evil, love and faith, but ultimately creeps around the edges of these big topics.

Believer is a poorly edited-together combination of ideas that had potential. The film starts out as a haunting mystery, but it slowly morphs into an empty and unnecessary sequel.