THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER (2023)
Label: WBHE
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 110 Minutes 49 Seconds
Audio: English Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Dolby Vision HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.85:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: David Gordon Green
Cast: Leslie Odom Jr., Ann Dowd, Jennifer Nettles, Norbert Leo Butz, Lidya Jewett, Olivia O’Neill, Ellen Burstyn
Since his wife Sorenne’s death during an earthquake in Haiti single-dad Victor (Leslie Odom Jr., Murder on the Orient Express) has raised his daughter Angela (Lidya Jewett, Hidden Figures) alone, in Georgia in the U.S.. One day after school Angela and her friend (Olivia O’Neill) go into the woods to hold a secret seance in an effort to contact her dead mother, in doing so they disappear for three-days, reappearing in a barn, traumatized and with no memories of what happened to them. Afterward they both begin disturbing behaviors and are admitted to a hospital. Katherine's parents Miranda (singer/songwriter Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland) and Tony (Norbert Leo Butz, TV's Justified: City Primeval) come to believe that the girls travelled to hell and are possessed. Victor's neighbor Ann (Ann Dowd, Hereditary) is a nurse at the hospital, and after an upsetting encounter with Angela gives him a book written by Chris MacNeil, the actress/mother who experienced a seemingly similar situation with her daughter Regan back in 1973, leading to Victor tracking down Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore), to help in battling the ultimate spiritual evil, which leads to a four-pronged ecumenical exorcism involving a Catholic priest; a Baptist pastor; a Pentecostal preacher; and a Hoodoo healer.
Since his wife Sorenne’s death during an earthquake in Haiti single-dad Victor (Leslie Odom Jr., Murder on the Orient Express) has raised his daughter Angela (Lidya Jewett, Hidden Figures) alone, in Georgia in the U.S.. One day after school Angela and her friend (Olivia O’Neill) go into the woods to hold a secret seance in an effort to contact her dead mother, in doing so they disappear for three-days, reappearing in a barn, traumatized and with no memories of what happened to them. Afterward they both begin disturbing behaviors and are admitted to a hospital. Katherine's parents Miranda (singer/songwriter Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland) and Tony (Norbert Leo Butz, TV's Justified: City Primeval) come to believe that the girls travelled to hell and are possessed. Victor's neighbor Ann (Ann Dowd, Hereditary) is a nurse at the hospital, and after an upsetting encounter with Angela gives him a book written by Chris MacNeil, the actress/mother who experienced a seemingly similar situation with her daughter Regan back in 1973, leading to Victor tracking down Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore), to help in battling the ultimate spiritual evil, which leads to a four-pronged ecumenical exorcism involving a Catholic priest; a Baptist pastor; a Pentecostal preacher; and a Hoodoo healer.
This was directed by David Gordon Green who helmed the Blumhouse reboot-quels of the Halloween franchise, which comes with a lot of baggage. I absolutely loved his first Halloween film which jettisoned all the previous sequels and brought back Jaime Lee Curtis (once again), but I loathed the second and third entries and where they went. So when it was announced that he would be helming a new Exorcist trilogy I wasn't all that keen on it, even when they announced that Ellen Burstyn would be reprising her iconic role. Now that I have watched it I'm not so down on it, but I still don't love it, but it is a pretty solid exorcism flick, and of the Exorcist sequels it's in the top three for me, but just know that's not exactly a ringing endorsement, some of those sequels blow pretty hard, and the only one I revisit willing is The Exorcist III. I like that this flick sets out to be a slow-burn, it develops the characters well-enough, and I liked that the upped the ante with a double exorcism. The interactions with the possessed girls are unnerving and creepy, the practical special effects are excellent while the digital stuff is less impressive, but the overall effect is quite well done. None of it comes close to the first film, I don't think any exorcism film will ever usurp it, but as a sequel and compared to the myriad of knock-off this is good stuff.
I actually think this might have been a better exorcism flick if they had not tagged it with the The Exorcist legacy tag, because I think how they utilize the return of Chris McNeil is totally bungled. I was not here for it and that aspect of it put me off quite a bit, especially when they bring in another legacy character who shows up in the final minute of the flick, and while it certainly elicited a smile from me because I am a nostalgic horror fan, it was not deserved. With that said, I damn decent exorcism film, it delivered the demonic soul-shredding frights, the main cast was excellent, it's handsomely made, but still an inferior sequel to The Exorcist, but so to is everything else.
One of my favorite things about this sequel is quote attributed to the late William Friedkin, the always outspoken and straight-shooting director of the original film, after his death film critic Ed Whitfield quoted him as saying the following, “Ed, the guy who made these new ‘Halloween’ is about to make one to my movie, “The Exorcist.” That’s right, my signature film is about to be extended by the man who made “Pineapple Express.” I don’t want to be around when that happens. But if there’s a spirit world, and I come back, I plan to possess David Gordon Green and make his life a living hell.”. I love William Friedkin, he will be missed.
Audio/Video: The Exorcist: Believer (2023) arrives on 4K Ultra + Blu-ray from WBHE in 2160p Ultra HD and 1080p HD widescreen (1.85:1). The 4K presentation offers HDR10 and Dolby Vision color-grading and looks solid. The film has a bit of a subdued and muted color scheme by design so it;s not super showy with vibrant zings of color splashing all over the place, but it reproduces the dark, shadowy flick handsomely with excellent fine detail and textures throughout, the shadows are deep and inky with pleasing shadow detail. The accompanying Blu-ray also boats excellent HD picture quality without the WCG color0grading and 4K resolution.
Audio/Video: The Exorcist: Believer (2023) arrives on 4K Ultra + Blu-ray from WBHE in 2160p Ultra HD and 1080p HD widescreen (1.85:1). The 4K presentation offers HDR10 and Dolby Vision color-grading and looks solid. The film has a bit of a subdued and muted color scheme by design so it;s not super showy with vibrant zings of color splashing all over the place, but it reproduces the dark, shadowy flick handsomely with excellent fine detail and textures throughout, the shadows are deep and inky with pleasing shadow detail. The accompanying Blu-ray also boats excellent HD picture quality without the WCG color0grading and 4K resolution.
Audio come by way of a very pleasing English Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1 presentation that is quite active when it needs to be. The opening earthquake scene and the exorcism scenes are full-bodied and ear-piercing, just the way I like it. Eerier moments are nicely immersive with surround activity that made for an engaging auditory experience. Notably, the accompanying Blu-ray also features the Dolby Atmos/True HD track.
Onto the extras we get about 35-minutes of making of featurettes and interviews with the cast and crew, plus an Audio Commentary co-writer/director David Gordon Green, executive producer Ryan Turek, co-writer Peter Sattler, and special makeup FX designer Christopher Nelson. The 2-disc UHD/BD set arrives in a black keepcase with a dual-hub trays holding the discs in place. There's a single-sided sleeve of artwork and a slipcover featuring the moody monochromatic artwork, inside there's a redemption code for a 4K digital copy of the film that includes the extras minus the commentary.
Special Features:
- Making A Believer – Filmmakers and cast reveal their collective approach to bringing differing perspectives into this drama about synchronized possessions. (8:45)
- Ellen and Linda: Reunited - The Exorcist: Believer expertly weaves the fates of Chris and Regan MacNeil into its story. Witness a moment of cinema history as these two Hollywood icons meet on-set for the first time in years. (4:32)
- Stages of Possession – Hear from Lidya Jewett, Olivia O'Neill, and special makeup FX designer Christopher Nelson as they discuss the physical and mental changes the girls go through as they advance through the possession. (6:03)
- The Opening– The first scene of the film takes place in Haiti, a location far from the rest of the story. Filmmakers and star Leslie Odom, Jr. discuss how this scene sets up the rest of the film. (6:18)
- Editing an Exorcism – The Exorcist: Believer culminates with a riveting exorcism scene featuring all the main characters. Director David Gordon Green and editor Tim Alverson explore the challenges of editing such a big scene. (4:34)
- Matters of Faith – Experts in theology weigh in on how they consulted filmmakers to ensure depictions of the religious ceremonies in the film were as accurate as possible. (4:24)
- Audio Commentary with co-writer/director David Gordon Green, executive producer Ryan Turek, co-writer Peter Sattler, and special makeup FX designer Christopher Nelson.
