'Soulless' The Exorcist: Believer Is a Final Nail in 1973 Original's Coffin
Wow oh wow, looks like box office success is not everything after all.
The original Exorcist movie released in 1973 is definitely a cult classic for every horror fan; besides, it is still one of the most profitable horror movies ever made. In this industry, profit inevitably means sequels, and while it can be a delight for fans who are craving more, new movies also risk ruining the original's legacy.
Well, this is exactly what happened with the newly-released The Exorcist: Believer, which hit the theaters on October 7. Don't get us wrong; the new movie has already easily dominated the box office, possessing it with a staggering $27.2 million opening.
However, the OG fans are up in arms over the movie being "soulless," "underwhelming," and borderline insulting to the original.
Prominent movie critic Mark Kermode, who considers the original Exorcist to be nothing short of a masterpiece, has already shared that he despised the new movie, and many other infuriated fans can't help but agree.
Some fans slammed Believer for its trailer being "misleading," and possessed girls not even being the main characters — which is quite anticlimactic for a movie that is literally titled The Exorcist.
Finally, many people are frustrated with how the movie failed to even be scary — arguably the main goal a horror movie can even have. The only silver lining a lot of fans pointed out was the performance of Lydia Jewett and Olivia O'Neil, who portrayed the possessed girls.
However, one thing we can't take away from The Exorcist: Believer: two days into its theater run, it already managed to nearly earn back its reported budget of $30 million. Still, it's important to note that the new Exorcist installment had little to no competition, so the demonic franchise was doomed to dominate the box office no matter its quality.
Speaking of quality, the movie has a depressing 23% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, with the audience being a bit more merciful with their 59%.
If you want to check out the new movie in theaters, you can do so right now. The original 1973 classic is available for streaming on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Kermode and Mayo's Take