Feeling possessed to see 'The Exorcist: Believer'?

Curiosity possessed me to check out this new chapter to the legendary 1973 film, The Exorcist, and believe me, I have some thoughts about it.

The Exorcist: Believer is directed by David Gordon Green, most recently known as the filmmaker behind the completed Halloween trilogy, with a script by Green and Peter Sattler with additional 'story by' credits from Scott Teems and Danny McBride.

Of course, we can't forget to mention this is also based on characters created by author and screenwriter William Peter Blatty.

When two girls disappear into the woods and return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, the father of one girl seeks out Chris MacNeil, who's been forever altered by what happened to her daughter fifty years ago.

Trailer courtesy of Universal Pictures 

I will preface this with the positive aspects of the film. The cast is fantastic. They all did great with what they had. It was good to see Ellen Burstyn back as Regan's mom, Chris MacNeil, as seen in the original Exorcist film. It was also great to see Linda Blair briefly reprise her role as Regan for the first time since 1977's Exorcist 2: the Heretic. The special effects make-up here is also a standout aspect.

Leslie Odom Jr. gives a subtle, but grounded performance as single father, Victor, who's lost his faith and comes close to losing his daughter to an unknown evil.

Lidya Jewett and Olivia O'Neill play Angela and Katherine respectively and to great effect. Although, we don't get to spend much time with Katherine, which is unfortunate since it would help us care more about her character.

The film starts in Haiti 13 years ago when Victor and his pregnant wife, Sorenne, are on vacation. An earthquake occurs, severely injuring his wife. He's forced to choose to save either his unborn daughter or his wife. Only one can survive the injuries.

We don't find out who he chooses right then. We jump to the present and see his daughter, Angela, survived and clearly misses the mother she never knew.

It's implied that Victor lost his faith in God after losing his wife.

The film flies by. We learn Angela has a friend named Katherine. Katherine's family is a Christian family. Three kids, and church every Sunday.

Katherine and Angela decide one day to go into the woods to try to speak with Angela's mom. Part of the ritual requires an item with links to the spirit in question.

Angela grabbed her mom's old scarf, but Victor took it away since she took it without asking.

The girls go missing for three days and are found in a barn 30 miles away with no memory of what happened.

Fairly quickly, Katherine's mom assumes that the girls are possessed. They both exhibit strange marks and act out in various ways that go unexplained by science. Victor assumes Angela needs to be put into a mental asylum.

A book written by Regan's mom, Chris MacNeil, is recommended to Victor. He's able to track Chris down with the help of his nurse neighbor.

A wasted opportunity here with Chris spouting some out of place dialogue and alluding to the fact the Regan's essentially cut ties with her for the last 50 years. I have a similar question as many other critics out there.

How did Chris write about Regan's exorcism when she never saw it happen? It's glossed over and feels odd.

It's tough not to compare this film to the original classic. The Exorcist is not only considered an excellent horror film, but an outright excellent film in general.

Chris visits both girls and is injured by Katherine, while it's implied it's the same demon possessing the girls is the one that possessed Regan in 1973. Chris is out for the rest of the film.

The climax of this film includes the parents of Katherine, Victor, the helpful nurse neighbor, Victor's other quirky neighbor and his friend, a voodoo-like pagan practitioner. Along with those characters we get a Catholic priest who's been told he can't perform an exorcism, and a Christian pastor from Katherine's family church.

The theme seems to be that you need to unite the religions to fight evil. It feels forced and corny. A far cry from the grounded emotional core of the 1973 film. It feels like a dissonant reality.

We learn that the girls' ritual in the woods opened them to demonic spirits since Angela didn’t have her mom's scarf.

During the messy climax, we learn that Victor asked the Haitian doctors to save his wife, not his daughter. His wife died anyways leaving him alone to raise Angela.

The twist at the very end of the exorcism was truly a surprise with a dark implication. Especially since it involves a young girl, and this is a large Hollywood studio production.

There's a nice button at the end of the film where Regan shows up at the hospital to see her mom. A possible implication is that she may appear in the next Exorcist film.

This film is frustrating for many reasons. It feels hollow and disinterested in its own subject matter.

If the late great William Friedkin were still alive, I can only imagine what that genius madman would say about this direct sequel to his iconic classic. I'm sure he'd use some colorful language.

Overall, I'd say give it a shot if you're already a fan of the franchise. 

As a sidenote, Universal Pictures allegedly spent $400 Million on the film rights to The Exorcist with the stipulation that they make three films.