The Exorcist: Believer (2023)

[Thomas T]

Title: The Exorcist

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Director: David Gordon Green

Cast: Leslie Odom Jr., Ellen Burstyn, Ann Dowd, Nedim Jahić

Release: 2023-10-11

Plot: The father of a possessed child seeks out the aid of Chris MacNeil, whose daughter Regan survived a similar possession in the 1970s.

Doesn't sound like a good idea but I hope she gets a nice paycheck! https://people.com/movies/ellen-bur...YouXjyYiqoAYMaHDL3rnnvL4j0DVgF6KhoXUlPCu10RUI

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Doesn't sound like a good idea but I hope she gets a nice paycheck! https://people.com/movies/ellen-bur...YouXjyYiqoAYMaHDL3rnnvL4j0DVgF6KhoXUlPCu10RUI

Interesting development. Friedkin's last spin around the exorcist ring was the supposed documentary The Devil and Father Amorth...it was horrible and I think the last film we will ever see from him. So, if the devil was looking for revenge on Billy he got it with that disaster.

I did like the sequel with George C. Scott, good picture, and Schrader's take on a "prequel" wasn't bad. They probably should not go back to this well but hey, this is how it works today. Better a known property than doing something different.

 

[TravisR]

They probably should not go back to this well but hey, this is how it works today. Better a known property than doing something different.

That's bad enough but what's really awful is that they're already planning on franchising it rather than letting that happen organically. And from the studio perspective, it has nothing to do with telling a bigger or better story and everything to do with wanting every movie to be a franchise today.

If they want to remake one, they should redo that piece of shit Exorcist II.

 

[Malcolm R]

I enjoyed the TV series that was on a few years back. Season One was a sequel of sorts to the first two films (reportedly it was being prepared as a potential movie sequel, then they shifted it to TV).

The second season was a different story/location involving the same priests. Looks like it was going to be similar to American Horror Story with a different story each season. Unfortunately, it didn't last beyond Season 2.

 

[Alex...]

 

[Ronald Epstein]

They might as well sign Linda Blair if Burstyn is reprising the role as her Mom.

The only good thing about this sequel is that it ensures a 4k release of THE EXORCIST is forthcoming as a tie-in or perhaps earlier (next year for its anniversary).

 

[B-ROLL]

They might as well sign Linda Blair if Burstyn is reprising the role as her Mom.

The only good thing about this sequel is that it ensures a 4k release of THE EXORCIST is forthcoming as a tie-in or perhaps earlier (next year for its anniversary).

I'm sure heads will be spinning if it doesn't - with a plastic barf drink cozy (or FUNKo POP) to boot !

 

[Alex...]

They might as well sign Linda Blair if Burstyn is reprising the role as her Mom.

The only good thing about this sequel is that it ensures a 4k release of THE EXORCIST is forthcoming as a tie-in or perhaps earlier (next year for its anniversary).

There was an interview not too long ago and she was asked about it, and she said they haven't. However that may have changed who knows. Ellen Burstyn said this past June that she already filmed her scenes, so I'm wondering if maybe it will be a cameo type appearance.

 

[Malcolm R]

Maybe Blair's not interested in returning to that franchise. I don't think she had any part in the TV series from 2016 (the first season of which was basically a sequel to the original film).

 

[Alex...]

Maybe Blair's not interested in returning to that franchise. I don't think she had any part in the TV series from 2016 (the first season of which was basically a sequel to the original film).

I thought this as well.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

There was an interview not too long ago and she was asked about it, and she said they haven't. However that may have changed who knows. Ellen Burstyn said this past June that she already filmed her scenes, so I'm wondering if maybe it will be a cameo type appearance.

My guess would be that they would not want to base the pictures around Burstyn and she is just a name being used to draw old fans in. I would guess they will want to establish a new group of characters so that they can franchise away. It is of note that she is appearing in at least one of these, she is still an excellent actor but I'd bet her role is small. They certainly could have Blair make a cameo at some point, maybe in the second or third picture but again, I doubt they want to build anything around these old characters.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I don't find the team that is making this a particularly good choice. It appears to be a bunch of the same people that did the latest Halloween pictures, which were not great, so this has the fragrance of mediocrity all over it.

Probably they write Burstyn's character in, in the simplest way possible. She was the mother of a possessed child, somebody else is possessed, they want to speak to Chris MacNeil, she probably does not want to talk about it, they convince her to talk about it, she warns them about the evil. Maybe in a creepy turn, she dies right after they speak to her.

 

[TravisR]

My guess would be that they would not want to base the pictures around Burstyn and she is just a name being used to draw old fans in. I would guess they will want to establish a new group of characters so that they can franchise away.

Yeah, it's a legacy character. Fans have largely rejected remakes but the studios have fared better with bringing back an old character in a movie so it's an extension of the original movie(s).

 

[Joe Wong]

I don't find the team that is making this a particularly good choice. It appears to be a bunch of the same people that did the latest Halloween pictures, which were not great, so this has the fragrance of mediocrity all over it.

I love the smell of napalm in the morning... but the fragrance of mediocrity in the afternoon...

(Apologies for hijacking your excellent phrase, @Reggie W!)

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I mean, I liked the third film and the Schrader prequel. Neither were as fantastic as the first picture was. Good horror movies though. With this series I am pretty sure what they will do is focus on a new possession. They probably want to move away from the previous pictures and have a new set of characters.

I think the first and third films were well written. I liked that the first picture was a family drama crossed with an examination of faith with Karras and Merrin and the third picture is basically a detective story. A noir horror really.

The second picture is pretty batshit with Boorman doing his thing to change what he hated about the first picture. So, Blair's character is like a super positive double rainbow of joy. Silly, but I mean it is wonderfully shot, I'll give it that.

Obviously, these are cash-in pictures designed to milk a long dead cow. I really am not impressed with the writers here and that this is being done by the same director that did the new Halloween pictures. That second Halloween film was pretty horribly written and directed.

 

[Alex...]

 

[Alex...]

You know, what happened was I’ve turned down many versions of The Exorcist 2. I’ve said no every time. This time they offered me a whole bunch of money and I still said no. And then they surprised me and they came back and said, “We doubled the offer.” I said, “OK, let me think about this.” I thought, “That’s a lot of money. Let me think about it.” The next thought that came to mind was: “I feel like the devil is asking my price.” And the next thought that came to mind was, “My price is a scholarship program for talented students at our master’s degree program at Pace University. That’s my price.” So I then went back and upped their up and ended up getting what I want. And I’ve got a scholarship program for young actors.

And I’ve shot most of the picture. The writer-director, David Gordon Green, I like very much. I met with him and we talked about the script and so forth, and I promised him four more days if he needed them. And he’s edited the film and he wants the four days, so I’m going back in November to shoot four more days. And it’ll come out in 2024, on the 50th anniversary of The Exorcist, the original.

 

[DigniT@DigniT!]

I love Ellyn Burstyn even more for leveraging her fee into a scholarship fund. What a mensch!

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

You know, reading Burstyn's comments it sounds like the production is first class and they handled things well. So, what remains to be seen is if they have a good story. Obviously, if they backed up a Brink's truck to land Burstyn, I would think she has a sizable role, otherwise why dump cash on her for a cameo, which is good because the woman can still act. She is still really great, so I hope they came up with a story worthy of her talents.

 

[YANG]

Untitled The Exorcist film - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org