Could this possibly be as bad as Exorcist II?
It really seems like the studio has no faith in this and word is test screenings were terrible. Are we expecting another Exorcist 2?
shareWe can only hope!!
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MovieChat Forums > The Exorcist: Believer (2023) Discussion > Could this possibly be as bad as Exorcis...
I think it will be a sub-par film. You would have to actively do everything possible to make a film as misguided, bad, and bizarre as Exorcist II: The Heretic. They could not even get Ellen Burstyn back for that one.
shareBut they got Linda Blair back for Exorcist II, and she was the real "star" of the first one. They also managed to get back Max von Sydow as Father Lankester Merrin, although it was pretty much a glorified cameo for him.
True. They also got Richard Burton, James Earl Jones, and Louise Fletcher. Cast was top notch. It was the directing, story, execution, score, and ridiculous effects that were the issues.
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>> True. They also got Richard Burton, James Earl Jones, and Louise Fletcher. Cast was top notch. <<
Excellent point. I haven't seen Believer yet, but Exorcist II's cast was obviously superior. I'd also say the same is true of the latter sequels: George C. Scott, Brad Dourif, Samuel L. Jackson (Exorcist III) and Stellan Skarsgård, James D'Arcy, Ben Cross, and David Bradley (Dominion/The Beginning)
Believer's cast is pretty meh, aside from getting the legendary Ellen Burstyn back to reprise her role.
There was more acting prowess in Linda Blair's 5 seconds than the entire rest of the cast the whole film, including Burstyn. It really looked like the cast were forced into the film and they all thought it was a terrible idea to make the film at all.
They were right, it was a terrible idea to make the film.
I haven't seen it yet, but my guess is it'll be generic and boring. Exorcist II, love it or hate it, was anything but generic.
shareYou are exactly right. Three months later, The Exorcist: Believer is just painfully boring and riddled with lame jump scares and scenes where the demons go "BLEHHH!!!", plus tons of lifeless "twists and turns" that are supposed to be unexpected but are really just poorly written cliches. Heretic: Exorcist II suffers from being too ambitious and psychedelic with no real thought or direction on where it should go. It's just all over the place, but it's more interesting than Believer. Not sure which is worse tbh.
shareThey really did spend an awful lot of $$$$$ for the rights to this now didn't they at $400 Million?? Also of note, if Hollywood didn't churn out one horror movie after another involving the subject of "Possession" which you see all too often now, maybe this would've been better received and felt a little more special, because as it stands, it sounds like it's no better than the rest of the pack??
shareThat's probably David Gordon Green's goal. That was what he was going for with his "Halloween" disaster.
shareExorcist II was a "so bad its good" film, where you can laugh at how ridiculous it is.
This looks like a "so bad its bad" film, where the final product is a soulless bland retread that appears to have been created by committee.
I checked out Exorcist II trailer just the other night bc id heard how bad/nuts it is but was anticipating the trailer to be at least similar tone/feel of the first film esp as it had Linda Blair back in the lead role (along with Richard Burton!) and Max Von Sydow! (and is directed by John Boorman, of Deliverance/Excalibur fame)..so I clicked on it and at first I figured it was a fake trailer made for lol's but no its genuine!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDraTxCzewY
Literally WTF x 1000!
There are actually THREE versions of "Exorcist II" out there. The original theatrical cut got ridiculed so much the opening week of the film, that Boorman swiftly rushed back into the editing room and released an "improved" version back in theaters, trying to salvage the film's box office numbers. And then there's a third attempt when the film came out on video. The three versions have running times of 117 mins., 102 mins., and 110 mins. I believe the Scream Factory Blu-Ray contains both of the theatrical versions.
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