The Exorcist: Believer (2023)★ 5.1/10

Half a century has passed, and the world has changed dramatically, as have audience tastes and cinematic expectations. Yet "The Exorcist: Believer" remains stuck in the past. The director clings to outdated horror tropes while neglecting the evolving sensibilities of contemporary viewers. In today's competitive film landscape, a lack of innovation is the fast track to becoming irrelevant.

Although it brands itself as a reboot of the original, "The Exorcist: Believer" feels just as careless and uninspired as the many imitators of the 1973 classic. It offers little new to the exorcism genre, once again relying on the contortion of young female bodies and nauseating scenes of vomitting as the highlights while lacking both depth and creativity.

4.The film feels somewhat disjointed, with narrative before the ritual focused on the act of capturing spirits through photography, while the ritual itself transforms the demon's abode into a raucous gathering of mixed faiths. The tenuous connection between the two lacks substantive integration into the visual and cinematic realm. Nonetheless, David Gordon Green adeptly handles both parts, imbuing them with societal observations and dark humor reminiscent of his Halloween trilogy.

David Gordon Green continues his streak of political commentary in this chaotic narrative, depicting demons carrying out divine duties, uniting people not under a common god, but a shared fear. It's a 'family-friendly' rendition akin to Halloween Kills & Termination, albeit overstuffed and caught awkwardly between novelty and fan service as it sets the stage for a new trilogy.

This exorcism focuses on the idea there is strength in numbers, and the entire exorcism process is a melting pot of religions. The director's low humor lurks beneath the surface, as well as some satire and reflection on religion. The portrayal of the demons in the film, the blur and flashes of demons in the chaos are quite impressive, and the tension throughout the exorcism process is thoughtfully designed. Also, the return of the original protagonist at the age of 90 is a major attraction, the characterizations and nostalgia is at the peak!

The casting of the two children is quite suitable for its eerieness. It’s actually well made, but the whole movie seems too good to be a horror film, and the biggest problem is that it's not scary enough, with all the good stuff condensed into the trailer. And as a B-horror, it rather looks like a philosophical movie but without any of the deeper meanings. Overall, the plot's too flat, but I actually kinda liked the calm personality of the hero.

The whole movie is kinda disjointed between the first half and the second. Before the ritual, the narrative is driven by the cinematography focused on taking over of the girls' souls by the demon, and the ritual itself is driven by the transformation of the devil's hut into an orgy of mixed beliefs. The tenuous link between the two is simply "blindness," a section for homage that is merely conceptualized without any actual usage to link the plots, nor does it bridge any relationship between 'sight' and the plot. However, I've to admit the director did both parts well as even if they aren't that scary, with the scenes hinting at social observations and low comedy, just like the Halloween trilogy.

I don't think it was that bad, or maybe it was enhanced by the IMAX technology and atmosphere of a late night movie. There are highlights, but there are plenty of problems too. It's not uncommon for big IP horror movies to get worse and worse, but this one mimics others too deliberately, merely using makeup and jumpscares to frighten audiences, and the plot and characters aren't well fleshed out. I wasn't adverse to the political correctness in this movie, which in line with current affairs lol, but it really fell below my expectations. If it had been made as a standalone film maybe it could've been filmed with new and creative ways, but in this modern era, it absolutely doesn't hold a candle to the 1973's The Exorcist. Still pinning my hopes on A24. Is there a horror movie in the last few years that can match Hereditary at all???

It does have solid acting and the costumes & props are good, but it's unforgivably boring. Banking on the good reviews of its predecessor and making the 101st movie out of a plot that's already been done a 100 times before is not going to go over well. The father as a character is weak, but Ann Dowd's acting is well received (he's truly a veteran actor). The stupid family reunion at the end simply made me laugh, and the part about [choices] could be delved deeper, but it's too shallow, and I think Satan would have criticized the horror movies made by popcorn-eating, cola-drinking creatures called mankind for their lack of depth and imagination.

It is meticulously shot with a lot of traditional horror elements. Not very scary but I thoroughly enjoyed it, and the sound effect is especially nice. By the end, it became kinda like a puzzle to solve, and wasn't that scary. I also loved the anti-Christian and progressive angle.

The buildup was too long, and the sudden shift in atmosphere doesn't make sense. The process of exorcism is all about "strength in numbers". I liked the performance of the demon, and the two young actors worked hard; the blurring and flashing of the demon in the midst of the chaos is a nice touch. The tension throughout the exorcism is good, and the process is kinda difficult, not outrageous like most exorcism movies. The jump scares at the beginning were pretty exciting to watch in the theater.

Nos adentramos en un terreno sagrado para los adeptos al cine de terror con el regreso de una de esas franquicias icónicas que sigue sacando sustos cincuenta años después. Lamentablemente, esta vez no alcanzó.

Dirigida por David Gordon Green (quien supo encargarse de la nueva trilogía de Halloween), esta nueva entrega, que anula todas las secuelas anteriores, tiene un gran problema: su nombre. ¿A qué me refiero con esto? Si bien El Exorcista: Creyentes es genérica, predecible, efectista y está lejos de esa atmósfera oscura y maligna de la original (además de ser asquerosamente cursi y más cercana al terror de principios de este milenio), el verdadero inconveniente es el peso que carga al formar parte de esta franquicia.

Si no tuviese el nombre que tiene, podría haber sido una película de posesiones decente. Pero, como siempre hay que seguir ordeñando la vaca hasta que se seque, se queda en el medio y es olvidable, tanto como película de posesiones como dentro de este universo. Le queda grande la camiseta, diríamos en mi país.

Eso sí, al César lo que es del César: las pibitas se sacan un diez en su actuación de endemoniadas y, no voy a mentir, algún que otro momento incómodo y oscuro hay. Mención especial al poema del Jabberwocky de Lewis Carroll.