‘The Exorcist: Believer’ review: This movie shows how religion and Hollywood have changed

The true identity of the unique “exorcist” in name only exorcist It was always a little vague. The original 1973 version overcame studio skepticism and became one of his most successful and important horror films of all time. Several exorcists appear and all the priests are trying to exorcise the demon from a 12-year-old girl named Regan (Linda). Blair). The film’s true protagonist is Father Damien Callas (Jason Miller), a priest facing a serious crisis of faith, but a more accomplished exorcist, Father Lankester Merrin (Max von Sydow), also makes an appearance. . So at least his two exorcists (plus his third priest, a friend of Karras) appear, and the film’s tension and charm comes from the ambiguity of the plot. You really don’t know what’s going to happen or who will survive this hellhole encounter. It all ends pretty gruesome.

There were many exorcist There have been installments over the intervening 50 years, some more successful than others. Exorcist: BelieverThe latest installment in the series, the film is intended to serve as a loose sequel to the 1973 original. Director David Gordon Green claims that the rest of the film “falls within the accepted mythology” of the new film (although the film does not mention the events). If it is successful, believer is planned as a sequel to the series, or the beginning of a reboot trilogy. Halloween Movies released between 2018 and 2022. (Green also directed the film, along with screenwriters Danny McBride and Scott Teems).

As a movie, it’s serviceable at best, with stronger world-building than the climactic exorcism, and nowhere near as unsettling as the original.still believer The film highlights in countless ways how much the world has changed since its original release. Hollywood isn’t the same, and American religious culture isn’t the same.

universal pictures

that Exorcist: BelieverThe title still uses the singular form, making it even more of a misnomer than the original. There seem to be so many exorcists walking around these days. Set (and published) 50 years after the events of exorcist, believer The story centers on Victor (Leslie Odom Jr.), a single father living in Georgia, and his teenage daughter Angela (Lydia Jewett). Angela’s mother died in an earthquake in Haiti, shortly after Angela received a blessing from a Haitian woman in her womb.

Angela disappears into the woods with her friend Catherine (Olivia Markham), and three days later they reappear 30 miles away, shoeless and shaken. As their behavior becomes increasingly erratic, they are met by Anne (Ann Dowd), the nurse who lives next door, Victor’s boxing gym sparring partner (Danny McCarthy), and Catherine’s parents (Jennifer Nettles and Norbert). Neighbors such as Leo Butts are caught up in a frantic search. solution. Anne takes Victor, who has lost his faith after losing his wife, to someone who may know something about the teenage girls’ unusual behavior: Regan’s mother Chris McNeil (Ellen Burstyn, 1973) (starred in a movie in 2015).

In this world you and I live in, exorcist The original release caused great controversy among clergy and critics, and Catholics were divided over whether the film was obscene, blasphemous, or the perfect tool for recruitment into the church. Billy Graham, who emphasized that he was not a Catholic and was very influential at the time, accused the film of having the devil in every frame. Requests for exorcisms (from Catholics and other believers) have skyrocketed, and the trend has waxed and waned in the years since. Beyond its religious connotations, the film provided a cultural touchpoint. This was especially true as sold-out screenings and reports of fainting and possession-like acts in theaters helped boost box office revenue.you may have never seen it exorcistBut you probably know the gist of it.

exorcist — in contrast to believer, unfortunately, is certainly truly shocking, even if the scene where Regan’s head literally spins is a little less viscerally terrifying for audiences raised on slick effects. (The special effects throughout the original film are still extraordinary, and probably looked even more so in 1973.) Perhaps the most reflexively horrifying moment is when Regan It must have been the moment when the man (who must have understood that) stuck the gun in his hand. The sight of her having a cross thrust into her genitals over and over again was so horrifying, painful and blasphemous that the person who was raping her was the demon of hell who possessed the girl, and even now It’s difficult to talk about.

Warner Bros.

at some point believer I wondered if we were witnessing a repeat of that moment, when the devil roared and the metal cross fell from the wall, and I thought: Oh I can’t bear to watch this again. But it’s used for a completely different and unpleasant purpose, and while it’s unpleasant enough on its own, it pales in comparison to piercing your vulva. But it was the most memorable moment in the movie. As soon as the thought appeared, it disappeared.Because if there’s one thing I know about mainstream Hollywood productions, it’s that they would never do that. that today. (To get that kind of shock, you’ll either have to dive deep into independent productions, unencumbered by studio executives’ comments, or reach outside American borders.)

this is not the only way believer It shows how big the cultural change was from 1973 to 2023.original theme exorcist The movie has three elements. It is about faith being tested and renewed in the face of supernatural evil. Anxiety about raising children, especially for single parents. And threats to patriarchy in particular come to the fore when girls reach adolescence. All three of her are vividly portrayed in this film, and all map strongly to what was happening in the broader culture. A decade of sexual liberation and feminist activism has given women new freedoms, but it has also created new anxieties in a culture that demonizes working single mothers and sexually liberated women. These particular anxieties would be linked to her fear of demons and the occult well into the 1990s through Satanic Panic.

However, more broadly, the period from the mid-20th century to the 1970s was a time of turmoil surrounding faith, especially in America. There, a combination of postwar trauma, 1960s rebellion, new spiritual voices, and apocalyptic fear led to the collapse of traditional religious hierarchies. Tail spin. Even the Second Vatican Council, concluded in 1965, fundamentally changed the way the Catholic Church operated and upended the long-defined order. In the ensuing turmoil, some Catholics felt their faith strengthened, while others felt threatened and left the church, relying on other traditions or not going at all. Even beyond Catholicism, Christian America in the 1970s was exposed to a kind of eschatology that translated into phenomena such as the rise of cults and the huge success of Hal Lindsay’s book on Biblical prophecy as a conspiracy theory. was imprisoned. Late Great Planet Earth. exorcist The film specifically tapped into the doubts and uncertainties of Catholics, but went far beyond the scope of the Pope and left viewers with no clear answers to the questions they were looking for.

In the same way as the original believer (Perhaps as befits its name) it reflects the religious trends of our time. To its credit, this movie goes far beyond the typical Hollywood movie in terms of literacy and understanding of the kinds of practices that distinguish, say, Pentecostals from Mainline Baptists and Catholics. I am. But the film doesn’t assume that Catholics know how to cast out demons. The characters repeatedly state that religions around the world have exorcism rituals, and that they ultimately opt for (less effective) non-sectarian exorcisms. (It is still largely Christian, although there are some mixed roots.)

universal pictures

But that patchwork approach to religion assumes that no tradition is right and that we can create from all kinds of traditions the one that best helps us connect with God; It is a symbol of the 21st century. America of the century. As sociological research points out, America’s fastest-growing religious group is “non-religious,” those who may participate in spiritual practices but do not believe in a particular religion. person”. In this way, believer is exorcist 2023 is built around a world where gods and evil are real, but the way we reach the paranormal isn’t primarily guided by organized religion. It’s a thoroughly modern approach to the same theme.

eventually, believer choose a more optimistic ending than exorcistThis might be the most obvious choice of them all. believer It will come off largely It’s like a Christian movie, just with a little less horror and gore. This also holds true to the adage of Christian cinema: the ending of the film should be emotional and uplifting. The film ends with a statement that feels intended to comfort the audience. The only tool we really have to prevent evil is each other. Our comfort actually comes not from faith in God, but from faith in those around us. They help us hold onto our dreams in the face of grief, loss, and the unknown. All you need is love, etc.

In fact, it’s not just Christian movies that need happy endings. Almost every mainstream Hollywood production ends with some kind of meditation on love, community, family, and friendship. And it’s about how we can find solace in each other even when the world is coming to an end.So believer It is a product of today’s film market and religious market.

None of this works believer That’s all well and good, but that’s what makes this piece interesting, and the fact that it could probably be a box office success is a reminder that exorcism stories still have appeal to us. Even the most modern and worldly of us are a little afraid of losing our children to forces beyond our control. Somewhere deep within our most ancient minds we wonder whether we actually have sovereignty over ourselves or whether we are being swallowed up by an invisible malevolent spirit. I’m worried. The world around us has changed significantly over the past 50 years. However, some things seem to never change.

Exorcist: Believer will be released in theaters on October 6th.