MOVIE REVIEW: THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER

When his daughter, Angela, and her friend Katherine, show signs of demonic possession, it unleashes a chain of events that forces single father Victor Fielding to confront the nadir of evil. Terrified and desperate, he seeks out Chris MacNeil, the only person alive who's witnessed anything like it before.

Director: David Gordon Green

Cast: Leslie Odom Jr., Ann Dowd, Jennifer Nettles, Norbert Leo Butz, Lidya Jewett, Olivia Marcum, Ellen Burstyn

Release Date: October 6, 2023

Genre: Horror

Rated R for some violent content, disturbing images, language and sexual references.

Runtime: 1h 51m

David Gordon Green's The Exorcist: Believer is more than capable of echoing William Friedkin's original, especially during its opening act, but it ultimately proves to be nothing more than hollow mimicry.  Green hits some incredibly familiar beats throughout this legacy sequel with camera shots or visual cues but there's a noticeable disconnect as the film rapidly moves through sequences to get to the possession portion of the film.  Once those moments arrive, we're treated to a series of cheap jump scares and gore that feel more in line with the Insidious films than a direct follow up to the original Exorcist.  The script doesn't help matters much since it throws a series of one dimensional characters at the screen and expects you to care about them.  There's a kernel of a solid idea that expands the idea of evil beyond the Catholic rite but the story has no idea how to take a nuanced, measured approach to the subject matter.  Instead, the film devolves into a series of standard shocks we've seen plenty of times before which highlights the fact that script and director doesn't understand what made the original so effective and unsettling, a sense of grounded humanity.  It’s a missed opportunity on multiple levels especially since the film is blessed with game actors who are looking for something more substantial.  Leslie Odom Jr. turns in a earnest performance as the father of one of the possessed girls.  Odom Jr. does his best with the smallest slivers of depth the script affords but the film simply doesn't have the patience to let any of it germinate organically since it wants to get to the next scare as soon as possible. Norbert Leo and Jennifer Nettles fare even worse as they are given the thankless roles of the parents of the other possessed girl who characterization is little more than broadly written evangelicals.  Ann Dowd, who plays a neighbor/nurse with a past, seems perfectly suited for this type of role but the film also rushes through her backstory which robs the character of any sort of emotional weight.  The biggest misstep is getting Ellen Burstyn back into the fold only to misuse the actress and character to a shocking degree.  That kind of haphazard mishandling of the material just shows that while The Exorcist: Believer might be able to create a facsimile it clearly never understood the material of the original.   

C-

MOVIE REVIEW: HEREDITARY

When Ellen passes away, her daughter's family begins to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry. The more they discover, the more they find themselves trying to outrun the sinister fate they seem to have inherited. 

Director: Ari Aster

Cast: Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Ann Dowd, Gabriel Byrne

Rated R for horror violence, disturbing images, language, drug use and brief graphic nudity

Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery

Runtime: 2h 7min

Review:

Hereditary is a classic horror film fans dream.  Ari Aster, who wrote and directs, is clearly a fan of 70’s and 80’s horror films and he mines a handful of tropes to deliver an emotionally mature and nerve grinding experience.  Aster’s film is a slow burn decent into madness.  It’s efficient and effective as it sets up the film’s plot by dropping tidbits of information here and there.  It demands the audience’s attention, asking them to pay close attention to little details.  At its center is Toni Collette who delivers an incredible performance.  Collette gives the kind of performance that’s sure to join the annals of horror performances like Jack Nicholson in The Shining or Mia Farrow in Rosemary’s Baby.   Milly Shapiro fills the creepy kid quotient leaving an impression in a limited performance.  Gabriel Byrne is appropriately worried throughout while Alex Wolff is increasingly terrorized.  Hereditary is one of those films that linger with you after you leave the theater, usually the hallmark of the best kind of horror films.

A-

MOVIE REVIEW: COMPLIANCE

Inspired by actual events, writer/director Craig Zobel's sophomore feature Compliance examines the complex hierarchy of authority through the experiences of a teenage fast-food restaurant clerk who falls victim to a twisted practical joke. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Craig Zobel

Cast: Ann Dowd, Dreama Walker, Pat Healy, Bill Camp, Ashlie Atkinson

Release Date: Aug 17, 2012

Rated R for language and sexual content/nudity

Runtime: 1 hr. 30 min.

Genres: Suspense/Thriller

Review:

Compliance is the type of feel that really feels like its stretching credulity and good taste various times during its runtime. At certain points during the film, I couldn’t help but feel like there was something exploitative or embellished about the proceedings but sadly, the plot of the film following the real life events fairly closely. It’s a disturbing and frustrating experience which leaves you with plenty of questions, most of which aren’t answered in the film or in real life for that matter. Craig Zobel shows an impressive talent as a director bringing an immediacy and authenticity to the proceedings. Ann Dowd’s complex and layered turn as the manager adds to the sense of authenticity. Dowd is always the most interesting person the screen even though there are other strong performances. The film loses some of its power when she isn’t front and center which happens for the better part of the final act. Dreama Walker is just as impressive with a performance that leaves her character exposed on multiple levels, both literally and figuratively. It’s a thankless role in many ways but she commits fully and believably. Pat Healy is appropriately detached yet sinister as the caller. It’s not a showy role but effective. We don’t know much about his character or motivations outside of tidbits of information that we are shown throughout the film after he’s revealed. In fact there we don’t get very many answers about him or the other characters, only a quick wrap up of each finishing with an interview with Dowd’s character.

B+