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Movie: The Exorcist - Believer
I love The Exorcist. It’s the classic horror movie. I own it in several formats and watch it 2 or 3 times a year. So, yeah. Love it.
It spawned a bunch of sequels and prequels, none of which were much good, a TV series on Amazon which managed to be boring, and countless spoofs and rip-offs, none of which match the original. And now this new sequel. So - I did not have high hopes, but I had to see it.
And…it ain’t bad. I liked the direct links to the original movie and it has some interesting things to say about religion and faith that did not break my atheist/pagan brain. The story literally doubles-down on the stakes by having two girls possessed…and I wish there had been a bit more exploration of that. Because if it was meant to be the same demon - how does that work? And if it’s not, what was actually going on? It’s a good movie. It gets in some good jump-scares (the one with the snake really got me!), it’s atmospheric, has good characters and it feels like it has real stakes. It’s not overly gory, though there’s some nasty violence (what would you expect?). It got a 15 rating in the UK which basically means it’s not Saw or Hostel level gore. I had a good time, and if it does well enough for them to make another, I will watch it.
But what it isn’t is anywhere close to the level of the original. Perhaps nothing can be: you can’t capture lightning in a bottle twice. But I feel like it could be done.
And maybe this is my problem. Horror movies today are not usually very intellectual. They’re cheap to make, and meant to make some money fast and be forgotten. I like to get my brain engaged; Jump-scares can be fun, but I like a movie that stays with me long after I’m done watching. The Exorcist, Poltergeist, Cabin in the Woods, even the Conjuring series (not the spin-offs) - these linger. Exorcist - Believer is not going to linger.
I’m going to link to Mark Kermode’s review below because he’s spot on about what this movie gets wrong in terms of its call-backs. But I also think some of the through-line is there. The original is about a priest who has lost his faith. Here we have a father who has lost, or perhaps never had, faith. It doesn’t end the same, but I wouldn’t expect it to.
MK’s review - https://youtu.be/9EYocIaYFYE?si=DercsI45KWz7ZcWY
In other news:
I have a fic to post in a few days. My sequel to Phoenix is shaping up well. But I am at the stage of trimming down the ideas to make a coherent whole, and I won’t be able to include what was going to be my first chapter. So I will post that as a stand-alone/companion story instead and maybe come back to what that’s setting up in another fic if I continue playing in this universe. I just need to tweak it a little so it works on its own terms.
I finally reached the end of season 7 in my Stargate Sg-1 rewatch, This is about the point I quit watching originally so I’m almost in new territory. And now I get to start re-watching Atlantis also. I don’t really remember that show all that well.
Next week I’m off to Buxton for a couple of days to hopefully get our hot-air balloon ride. Dunno the chances. On past evidence it’ll get cancelled again. But let’s keep the fingers crossed. It’ll be nice to see friends, anyway.
It spawned a bunch of sequels and prequels, none of which were much good, a TV series on Amazon which managed to be boring, and countless spoofs and rip-offs, none of which match the original. And now this new sequel. So - I did not have high hopes, but I had to see it.
And…it ain’t bad. I liked the direct links to the original movie and it has some interesting things to say about religion and faith that did not break my atheist/pagan brain. The story literally doubles-down on the stakes by having two girls possessed…and I wish there had been a bit more exploration of that. Because if it was meant to be the same demon - how does that work? And if it’s not, what was actually going on? It’s a good movie. It gets in some good jump-scares (the one with the snake really got me!), it’s atmospheric, has good characters and it feels like it has real stakes. It’s not overly gory, though there’s some nasty violence (what would you expect?). It got a 15 rating in the UK which basically means it’s not Saw or Hostel level gore. I had a good time, and if it does well enough for them to make another, I will watch it.
But what it isn’t is anywhere close to the level of the original. Perhaps nothing can be: you can’t capture lightning in a bottle twice. But I feel like it could be done.
And maybe this is my problem. Horror movies today are not usually very intellectual. They’re cheap to make, and meant to make some money fast and be forgotten. I like to get my brain engaged; Jump-scares can be fun, but I like a movie that stays with me long after I’m done watching. The Exorcist, Poltergeist, Cabin in the Woods, even the Conjuring series (not the spin-offs) - these linger. Exorcist - Believer is not going to linger.
I’m going to link to Mark Kermode’s review below because he’s spot on about what this movie gets wrong in terms of its call-backs. But I also think some of the through-line is there. The original is about a priest who has lost his faith. Here we have a father who has lost, or perhaps never had, faith. It doesn’t end the same, but I wouldn’t expect it to.
MK’s review - https://youtu.be/9EYocIaYFYE?si=DercsI45KWz7ZcWY
In other news:
I have a fic to post in a few days. My sequel to Phoenix is shaping up well. But I am at the stage of trimming down the ideas to make a coherent whole, and I won’t be able to include what was going to be my first chapter. So I will post that as a stand-alone/companion story instead and maybe come back to what that’s setting up in another fic if I continue playing in this universe. I just need to tweak it a little so it works on its own terms.
I finally reached the end of season 7 in my Stargate Sg-1 rewatch, This is about the point I quit watching originally so I’m almost in new territory. And now I get to start re-watching Atlantis also. I don’t really remember that show all that well.
Next week I’m off to Buxton for a couple of days to hopefully get our hot-air balloon ride. Dunno the chances. On past evidence it’ll get cancelled again. But let’s keep the fingers crossed. It’ll be nice to see friends, anyway.