In Hollywood, The Exorcist is one of the most iconic horror movie franchises. The first hit movie was introduced in 1973 as an adaptation of the book written by William Peter Blatty, and it displayed the struggles between good and evil and everything demonic in between.
Most of the movies follow the same storyline: the main characters experience some demonic possession that threatens their lives, and then the loved ones of those characters become involved with religious practices to exorcize the demons. Often, a religious expert, such as a priest, is called to action to assist.
Warning: Spoilers ahead
The Exorcist: Believer set the scene 13 years before the main story, with Victor and his wife Sorenne on vacation in Haiti when a massive, unprecedented earthquake hit. This earthquake killed Victor’s wife while their unborn infant survived. Fast forward, Victor’s daughter Angela and her friend Kathrine wander into the woods and go missing for three days.
When found, they have no recollection of time and claim to have only been gone for three hours. As time goes on, they exhibit demonic traits, which progressively get worse. Victor checks Angela into the mental institution and attempts to contact Chris MacNeil, whose daughter experienced this strange phenomenon 50 years ago. In the end, the families of the two girls bring in a priest, a nun, and a shaman to rid the demons from the girls. While Angela lives, Kathrine is unfortunately killed during the process.
While this movie is a part of a major movie franchise, it didn’t seem like an actual horror movie. There were minimal jump scares, and it felt like the same story all over again: somebody went somewhere they weren’t supposed to, they got possessed, and then nobody believed it was a demon until things got messy. “The movie was mediocre. I wouldn’t recommend it. It just wasn’t a good horror movie,” shares Falak Khan (12).
“The movie was mediocre. I wouldn’t recommend it. It just wasn’t a good horror movie.”
— Falak Khan (12).
The movie was hyped up to be one of the best, and the directors took lots of time developing the characters and introducing their storylines. However, it felt more like a drama film than a horror film. Many viewers are comparing the lack of fright and gore to the original Exorcist, which was so scary you could hardly keep your eyes on the screen.
Despite this, the movie has earned the most in the entire franchise, grossing almost $100 million. This also gives viewers hope for the next Exorcist movie coming out in 2025, Exorcist: Deceiver.
Milo Martinson • Nov 30, 2023 at 7:32 AM
Horror movies have been trying too hard recently. They put all their effort into getting a few scares that they miss out on telling a story.
Megan Huynh • Nov 30, 2023 at 7:29 AM
Honestly, I really want to watch horror movies, but every time a jumpscare happens, I die. Maybe, I’ll consider watching this one, since there aren’t too many horror factors.