David Gordan Green’s latest film, The Exorcist: Believer, had finally been released, resulting in mixed views from fans. After a long awaited 50 years, the expectations were set high for this sequel to the original Exorcist, but were unsurprisingly let down after its release, leaving fans disappointed and irritated.
This wasn’t the first time David had let horror fans down, with previous films he released in the Halloween trilogy also receiving harsh criticism. Many despised these films, some even going as far as to say it ruined the franchise. “The trilogy started off really strong but with each and every movie after the first it just got worse and worse in terms of quality and where he wanted to take the story. Felt like David had no sense of direction in what he wanted to do with the films.” said senior Allan Ayala.
With this track record, fans were left wondering how this next film of his would turn out. Most fans, including myself, were worried for the sequel to the infamous Exorcist to come out, hoping that it wouldn’t end up ruined or destroyed similarly to his other films. Meanwhile some other fans kept low expectations so as to not be disappointed. “Yeah I mean with how the Halloween movies went I had low hopes going into the film, and luckily I did because this movie was just as bad. Really wish they gave these movies to directors more competent to do well with them” said Allan Ayala.
When it comes to the movie itself, it was very lackluster at best and it went against everything that made the original Exorcist so good. The Exorcist, for its time, was one of the most unique movies when released, showing a great story on its mortality tale. The sequel that was made was an attempt to copy this aspect, but went against everything that made this original movie unique in the first place. David took away that sense of originality, although it could have severely benefited the movie since it strays away from ideas seen in everyday modern horror movies.
This same sense of direction could be seen again in the final movie in David’s Halloween trilogy, “Halloween Kills” as well. He, yet again, fell into his habit of abandoning the franchise’s strengths, instead relying on overused cliches and predictable jumpscares for cheap reactions, which is a major problem in horror movies today. Many die hard fans, including myself, were extremely frustrated by this since the expectation was the uniqueness that made the original amazing. The movie lacked identity, making it unclear if it was a direct sequel or a continuation of the antagonist, and the film greatly suffered from it.
Although there were many faults in the Exorcist, there were some moments where David did well with the film. For example, one of the main highlights was the plot twist towards the end, which could not have been predicted by anyone. As to not spoil it for those who haven’t watched it, the scene won’t be exactly stated, though it was really thought out and perfectly paced. The main concern with scenes like this is that it would be rushed out, but David surprisingly managed it very well.
Despite the many flaws and hate this movie has, Director David Gordan Green will continue to work on other movies. While it can’t be confirmed the next movie will be any better, the hope will still remain.
