Out of all the horror films releasing this year, The Exorcist: Believer was definitely one of the standouts as the film is the direct sequel to The Exorcist, which is widely considered as the best horror film of all time. In humble yet patronising opinion, it is not. However, the trailers and other promotional materials did convince me that I am going to witness a truly horrifying tale. With David Gordon Green (Halloween, Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends) as the helmer, I was assured that the film won’t be a cheap sequel that is just a cash grab. As October begins and the Halloween season starts, The Exorcist: Believer is opening in theatres to set the horror tone of the season. However, does it live up to the hype? Let’s hear what the critics have to say.
The Exorcist: Believer Reviews Roundup – Just Loud Sounds!
The Exorcist: Believer debuted with a “Rotten” score on Rotten Tomatoes of 26% which now stands at 23% after 91 reviews. The film is being scrutinised by critics for lack of innovation and cheap horror. Read the critics reviews below:
Rafer Guzman (Newsday) – ““The Exorcist: Believer” seems likely to be met with deep, steady snores.” Original Score: 1/4
Katie Walsh (Tribune News Service) – “This noisy effort isn’t even worth your attention.” Original Score: 2/4
Tim Robey {Daily Telegraph (UK)} – “It’s truly embarrassing how little imagination is flexed all round: limp stabs at awe-inspiring set pieces, such as the white girl having a fit in church, are just thrown over to the composers to beef up.” Original Score: 1/5
Nick Schager (The Daily Beast) – “”The Exorcist: Believer” trots out Burstyn for continuity credibility and then treats her with stunning disrespect—the most brazen of many indications that the film is a soulless cash-in on an established name brand.”
William Bibbiani (TheWrap) – “[N]ot ambitious enough to be interesting, nor is it powerful enough to get under the skin. It evades serious discussions of faith and uses the underlying depth of the series as a basis for little more than fan service and generic plot.”
Michael O’Sullivan (Washington Post) – “If “The Exorcist: Believer” is all about devotion to spiritual (or at least cinematic) faith, its failure to live up to the power of the first film, which made zealots of even the most cynical moviegoers, borders on sacrilege.” Original Score: 2.5/5
Jordan Hoffman (The Messenger) – “The original release date of this film was moved because of Taylor Swift’s concert documentary. It’s too bad she isn’t producing a new one every week.” Original Score: 2.5/10
Dylan Roth (Observer) – “Believer is a film wherein everyone’s effort — effort to underline a message, effort to deliver a nuanced performance, effort to be visually interesting, effort to shock the audience — is all a little too visible on screen.” Original Score: 2/4
Mick LaSalle (San Francisco Chronicle) – “Until someone is able to come up with a new way to depict possession or the battling of possession, this franchise is going nowhere.” Original Score: 2/4
Johnny Oleksinski (New York Post) – “After a promising start, the sixth film in a franchise that should’ve proudly called it quits 50 years ago becomes absolutely enraging.” Original Score: 1/4
Justin Clark (Slant Magazine) – “The film is a mélange of tired normcore horror tropes indistinguishable from any film in the Conjuring universe.” Original Score: 1.5/4
Olly Richards (Empire Magazine) – “As a perfectly serviceable horror movie, it at least gets the Exorcist franchise back into respectable territory, but there was the potential for something much better.”
Benjamin Lee (Guardian) – “A silly, gloopy Halloween shocker that offers just about enough goofy entertainment for an undemanding fright night crowd. But it might be close to impossible for those with deep reverence for the original…” Original Score: 3/5
Leigh Monson (AV Club) – “An exorcism movie may not need to be compelled by the power of Christ, but something about it still needs to be compelling, and slapping the name ‘The Exorcist’ on a screenplay that reads like a brainstorming session is just not enough.” Original Score: D
Jeannette Catsoulis (New York Times) – “[Green’s former] patience and sensitivity has now been sacrificed to the cannibalism of recycled ideas; and while I don’t begrudge him his success, I do miss the filmmaker he used to be.”
Barry Hertz (Globe and Mail) – “The Exorcist: Believer still reeks of sulfur-scented soullessness. The moviegoing body may be willing, but the cinematic flesh is weak.”
Neil Geraets (Sydney Morning Herald) – “Green’s strategy seemed simple: double everything. Double the possessions, double the visual effects, double the stakes. But more isn’t always better, particularly when following a film praised for its horrifying rawness and simplicity.” Original Score: 2/5
Nicholas Barber (BBC.com) – “A film that was shaping up to be an intelligent and respectful homage to The Exorcist descends to the depths of a cheesy, straight-to-streaming rip-off.” Original Score: 2/5
Bill Goodykoontz (Arizona Republic) – ““The Exorcist: Believer” is the first film in a planned trilogy. Better luck next time.” Original Score: 2.5/5
Brian Truitt (USA Today) – “Sure, we didn’t need another “Exorcist.” And Green’s recent “Halloween” trilogy ended up fumbling a good start. With a formidable “Believer” and two more “Exorcist” movies in the pipeline, though, at least this franchise still has a prayer.” Original Score: 3/4
The film is directed by David Gordon Green, the director behind the Halloween sequel trilogy and stars Ellen Burstyn, Olivia Marcum, Leslie Odom Jr., Jennifer Nettles and Lidya Jewett.
The Exorcist: Believer is all set to release in theatres on 6th October 2023.
If you have any questions regarding The Exorcist: Believer, feel free to ask in the comments below and stay tuned. As usual, like, subscribe and share our articles as we here are trying to build a community of people High on Cinema!
