The Exorcist returns to the big screen for the first time in 33-years. This time, David Gordon Green will handle the duties of the upcoming reboot that will follow up from the 1973 original. The Exorcist: Believer is about two parents seeking help when their daughters display signs of demonic possession.
It’s been confirmed that Ellen Burstyn will return as Chris MacNeil. It’s also been noted that Linda Blair will make a cameo as Regan MacNeil. Leslie Odom Jr., Jennifer Nettles, Norbert Leo Butz, Lidya Jewett, Olivia Marcum, and Ann Dowd are the main cast for The Exorcist: Believer. The horror film is scheduled to be released on October 6, 2023. Here are the top five moments from the latest trailer.
You’ve Been Gone Three Days
The trailer starts off creepy enough. The set-up is relatively simple: two girls mysteriously vanish for three days and are found with marks and scars all over their body. Obviously, the demonic possession will take place, but it opens up pandora’s box for the directions David Gordon Green can take this. The filmmaker has confirmed that Pazuzu is not the entity that will possess the two daughters.
Green can have fun with the mythology of The Exorcist since the sequels have been retconned. He can genuinely create a creepy and fresh story that expands on the lore of the series. The opening is a promising set-up. It can always go down the predictable root, but hopefully, it doesn’t.
The Body and The Blood
The church scene is interesting. Usually, these demons are spooked by the site of a cross or anything that revolves religion. It gave the demon a necessarily weakness, and it also opened an interesting conversation that allows the series to explore such a theme. The fact that the demon was allowed to come into the church freely was an interesting change, even though religion does seem to still be a major antagonist for the demon.
Small changes like that create an interesting air of mystery. Plus, the moment Katherine (Olivia Marcum) steps into the service is pretty creepy as well. The Exorcist took a toll out of Linda Blair when she first played the role. However, that iconic role saw the actress garner an Oscar nomination. The complexity of essentially playing two characters is crucial, and it does seem that Marcum is up to the demanding task.
You Have Experience With Possession
It’s great to see Ellen Burstyn return to her role. Though her part doesn’t appear to be much beyond a guide to help the parents, hopefully there’s some more insight on her personal life since the first Exorcist film. We see glimpses of that in the trailer, but how has the demonic possession impacted her life? There’s a strong secondary story for Burstyn’s character. Though the story isn’t about her; hopefully, Chris’s role has some meat to it.
God Played A Trick On You
The scene where Catherine and Angela’s (Lidya Jewett) heart beating at the same time is genuinely skin crawling. The practical make-up on the girls looks great. It does appear that the film will play the greatest hits when it comes to demonic possession. The two victims angle can hopefully create original ideas and scares. The look of the film itself isn’t too bad. Though it looks a bit too clean, the horror images look frightening nevertheless. A cool scene that should give the villain a chance to shine by adding depth to the character.
The Final Black and White Images
Usually, the victims survive the demonic possession ordeal. However, with two girls under the possession, could one end up dying? The montage at the end of the trailer create an unsettling moment that nicely emphasizes the horror at play and causes doubt on whether these two will live or die. It’s widely known that this is the first part of a three-film trilogy. Perhaps Green will have a better grasp on how to handle the story and craft moments that are shocking and surprising. It’s going to be hard to top the original Exorcist. The Exorcist: Believer provides some hope that Green has new and effective ideas to bring to the genre.
Follow Us
