IR Film Review: THE EXORCIST - BELIEVER [Universal]
The aspect of innocence lost is sometimes based in the context of ignorance. The original "Exorcist" painted in the lines of the proponent of purity versus the conservative nature possibly of the church. With "The Exorcist: Believer", the filmmakers try to take a similar approach but with not enough narrative backbone and delivery to create the stakes. Director David Gordon Green does his diligence in trying to build the story, at least from one side: that of Leslie Odom Jr.'s character Tanner and his daughter Angela from their beginnings in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti during the earthquake. There would seem to be much more spiritual elements in that especially with a certain blessing that takes place. However not much is made of it.
The repercussions jump to 13 years later in Georgia. Two girls head off in the woods to perform an incantation of sorts but nothing really is given as to its motivation. Some details are foreshadowed but not clear. Angela (Lidya Jewett) seems fairly well adjusted. Her friend Kathryn (Olivia O’Neill) is part of a heavily religious family so maybe there is want to rebel but nothing major. Obviously at one point (the trailers show this) they become possessed but the mythology of the space and their connection is almost layed by the wayside. This information is needed to make the rest of this work (i.e. context). This is why the first "The Nun" worked while the 2nd didn't as much...but at least there was a progression based on mythology in the first one. "The Exorcist: Believer" jumps from Act 1 to Act 3 without much preparation.
It tries to be scary but that can only happen if you know what the demon wants. Bringing back Ellen Burstyn as Chris O'Neill does work and one of her key scenes is what provides the most gravitas. However it is very unclear what its end result is supposed to be. We see there is a connection to her daughter Regan (Linda Blair) but again it is not fully connected but more alluded to only (except for one scene toward the end). One feels that there was more exposition shot but in the post production process it was approached with a lean and mean approach to get to the exorcism (which in itself is all over the place, despite some interesting visuals). Speaking at CinemaCon back in April, producer Jason Blum and Gordon Green spoke to this like a trilogy (akin to their reboot of "Halloween"). But with those film, there was initially an inidcation of that trajectory with Jamie Lee Curtis (though it completely faltered in the 3rd film despite a great cliffhanger in the 2nd film). Here, there is not a sense of what the bigger picture is. Maybe the discussion was "we can explain it in the next film...but, if so, that is a disservice to the first film).
Odom Jr.'s Tanner is the strongest character but certain parts of his decision making and reasoning (which at first make logical sense) seem to meander a bit before taking back more focus towards the end. Ann Dowd's character builds well but, in the final moments, her importance shifts. It is like there are many moving parts that should have worked together in the edit but are seemingly scattered all over the place. The same could be said for additional spirit sisters present (which was probably the connection to the beginning prologue in Haiti) which again has potential but is not fully formed. There is some interesting moments with that (including a fire ritual that ends as soon as it begins). "The Exorcist: Believer" is pretty much half a film, with a possibility of a great base (as the trailers show) but a lack of dread and the underuse of Burstyn (who elevates the film when she is in a scene) but for the most part is relegated to some cutaways. C-
By Tim Wassberg
