Those Hollywood execs from 20 years ago smelled trouble when their Exorcist prequel wasn’t scary enough, but apparently there wasn’t that kind of oversight on Believer, which had some disturbing imagery but zero frights. The film also had a surprisingly predictable story despite being assembled from a carefully crafted list of “stuff The Exorcist movies haven’t done before,” including giving us a pair of girls possessed in tandem, and the idea that people of diverse religions should work together as a team to maximize their chances of chasing demons away.
That came at the expense of making the Catholic priest character forgettable and useless (unless being “the character whose head spins around” counts as useful), when the best entries in the franchise have all examined how performing exorcisms and dealing with dark forces in general makes priests re-examine their own faiths in fascinating ways.
Believer had a great cast—Leslie Odom Jr. and Ann Dowd especially, though Norbert Leo Butz as a bitchy evangelical who has no idea how to deal with his tween daughter (even before she’s possessed) is also notable. It was great to see Burstyn reprising Chris MacNeil… it wasn’t so great that her eyes got stabbed out early on, meaning she spent most of the movie psychically reacting to events by writhing blindfolded in her hospital bed. She’s a beloved legacy character, and she came back 50 years later for that?
Trending Products
![Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L Micro-ATX Tower with Magnetic Design Dust Filter, Transparent Acrylic Side Panel, Adjustable I/O & Fully Ventilated Airflow, Black (MCB-Q300L-KANN-S00)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51WfytAtGCL._SS300_.jpg)
Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L Micro-ATX Tower with Magnetic Design Dust Filter, Transparent Acrylic Side Panel, Adjustable I/O & Fully Ventilated Airflow, Black (MCB-Q300L-KANN-S00)
![ASUS TUF Gaming GT301 ZAKU II Edition ATX mid-Tower Compact case with Tempered Glass Side Panel, Honeycomb Front Panel, 120mm Aura Addressable RGB Fan, Headphone Hanger,360mm Radiator, Gundam Edition](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41JUuW8Yc5S._SS300_.jpg)
ASUS TUF Gaming GT301 ZAKU II Edition ATX mid-Tower Compact case with Tempered Glass Side Panel, Honeycomb Front Panel, 120mm Aura Addressable RGB Fan, Headphone Hanger,360mm Radiator, Gundam Edition
![ASUS TUF Gaming GT501 Mid-Tower Computer Case for up to EATX Motherboards with USB 3.0 Front Panel Cases GT501/GRY/WITH Handle](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41j9qzlOi2L._SS300_.jpg)
ASUS TUF Gaming GT501 Mid-Tower Computer Case for up to EATX Motherboards with USB 3.0 Front Panel Cases GT501/GRY/WITH Handle
![be quiet! Pure Base 500DX ATX Mid Tower PC case | ARGB | 3 Pre-Installed Pure Wings 2 Fans | Tempered Glass Window | Black | BGW37](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41xW6xrbicL._SS300_.jpg)
be quiet! Pure Base 500DX ATX Mid Tower PC case | ARGB | 3 Pre-Installed Pure Wings 2 Fans | Tempered Glass Window | Black | BGW37
![ASUS ROG Strix Helios GX601 White Edition RGB Mid-Tower Computer Case for ATX/EATX Motherboards with tempered glass, aluminum frame, GPU braces, 420mm radiator support and Aura Sync](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41T-2v3IuML._SS300_.jpg)
ASUS ROG Strix Helios GX601 White Edition RGB Mid-Tower Computer Case for ATX/EATX Motherboards with tempered glass, aluminum frame, GPU braces, 420mm radiator support and Aura Sync
![Bgears b-Voguish Gaming PC Case with Tempered Glass panels, USB3.0, Support E-ATX, ATX, mATX, ITX. (Fans are sold separately)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41p2u3NJN6L._SS300_.jpg)