“The Exorcist: Believer”
Day 6 of the 2023 31-Days of Horror
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Two girls disappear into the woods then are discovered in a barn 30 miles away three days later with no memory of where or how long they were missing. It is quickly evident that there is something very wrong with the girls. The father of one of the girls, realizing that there is something sinister going on, reaches out to Chris MacNeil, whose recently published book discusses the same symptoms that the two girls are exhibiting. Soon, the families and community pull together to try to save the girls from the evil that has possessed them.
So having watched all 6 Exorcist movies in the same week, the first thing I noticed is that this film immediately departs from the formula. Mostly. Exorcist: Believer opens by following a very pregnant woman wandering around Port au Prince, Hati, where some children find her and take her to a holy woman who preforms a beautiful blessing on her unborn child (I guess this could be considered sort of tangential to opening with a scene with an Exorcist). Not long after, an earthquake strikes in which she is severely injured. Her husband is told that he must make a choice, that the doctors can save only one, his wife or his child. Fast forward and Victor Fielding (Leslie Odem Jr.) is an overprotective, single father of daughter Angela (Lidya Jewett).
One of the things I liked about the movie is that, where some of the other movies mentioned exorcisms in other religions and cultures, this one really shows those other beliefs and rituals, not just having the Catholic priest being the great white savior. I liked that it was Victor’s eccentric neighbors who really pulled together and created an environment of real help. I did not, however, care for the rather two dimensional portrayal of the very religious Catholic family. Though, I’m guessing part of it is that it triggered some residual guilt from my own Catholic upbringing and part of it triggered by my awareness of my white privilege. And this family was definitely privileged, though when push came to shove, much of that privilege was superficial at best and crumbled in the face of real adversity.
Really, there was quite a lot of potential and talent here, unfortunately, all we got was a mediocre film. Still, it did keep my attention and entertain throughout (even if the entertainment wasn’t always in a positive light) so I gave it 3 glasses of dark red wine.
