After bringing back the Halloween franchise, director David Gordon Green has turned his attention to The Exorcist series. Just as he did with the Michael Myers movies, this sixth instalment serves as a direct sequel to the original 1973 film, while disregarding all other previous films.
I love John Carpenter’s Halloween and Green’s reboot exceeded my expectations. However, The Exorcist is a much more complex film with a lot more subtexts and it is apparent that the director has not really got to grips with those. In fact, despite Ellen Burstyn having a fairly large part reprising her role as Chris McNeil, this could well be most enjoyed by those who do not love the original, or maybe have not seen it.
The reliable Leslie Odom Jr. stars as Victor Fielding and Lidya Jewett plays his 13 year old daughter, Angela, who he is very protective of, as his wife died in childbirth. When Angela tries to perform a séance with her friend Katherine (Olivia O’Neill), in order to talk to her Mum, it goes wrong and both girls become possessed.
This film worked best for me in the earlier stages when both girls go missing, and once found, the medical teams try to understand their injuries. Once their parents realise that an exorcism is needed, it becomes pretty predictable. The exorcism scene that takes up most of the final act felt familiar from the numerous films involving that subject, though it is superior to The Pope’s Exorcist from this year and Prey for the Devil from 2022.
The best performance surprisingly comes from Jennifer Nettles, better known as a singer, as Katherine’s desperate Mum. Ann Dowd is also effective as a neighbour of Victor who instigates the exorcism.
Not the disaster some have said, but not a patch on the original.
Rating: 6 out of 10