Underrated but Low-Key Great Horror Series is Now Free to Watch, and You Can Thank The Exorcist: Believer For That

Summary

• Many horror filmmakers try to repeat the success of 1973's The Exorcist, but rarely do they succeed.
• Such was the case with The Exorcist: Believer, which turned out to be a poor imitation of the original.
• On the wave of hype, The Exorcist series was made freely available on Tubi, and fans are thrilled.

It's hard to argue that 1973's The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin and written by William Peter Blatty based on his own novel of the same name, is one of the most significant films in the history of the horror genre. Despite numerous attempts to achieve the same success, including books written by Blatty, feature-length sequels, prequels, and even a stage play and video game, nothing compares to the sheer horror audiences experienced as they watched the chilling process of exorcising the incomprehensible Pazuzu.

The problem why almost no one has been able to achieve the same maddening supernatural atmosphere as the original is that most filmmakers try to reproduce the story, rather than delving into the reasons why the movie was so traumatizingly scary.

A case in point is David Gordon Green's The Exorcist: Believer, which, despite being a commercial success, was panned by critics and fans of the horror genre. All of this has led many to turn to a nearly forgotten television series in the franchise that many feel is a worthy successor. Do we need any more reasons to check it out, especially since it is now free to watch?

A Great TV Series Sequel to the Greatest Horror Movie Ever Made

The plot of The Exorcist: Believer followed the father (Leslie Odom Jr.) of daughters who disappeared into the woods and mysteriously returned as if nothing had happened. As a result, he is forced to contact Chris MacNeil (the role is reprised by Ellen Burstyn), who had a similar experience in the original film. According to critics and viewers, nothing shown in the direct sequel is unique and merely mimics the 1973 film. As a result, Believer has no identity of its own, being a money-driven shallow project, and Burstyn's cameo was completely unnecessary.

However, the hype surrounding Believer has prompted many fans to bring back from the brink of oblivion The Exorcist, a series that aired on Fox from September 2016 to December 2017, counting two seasons before its disappointing cancellation.

The series got the job done, tackling elements of supernatural horror and psychological thriller just as well as the original. The plot follows a pair of priests (played by Alfonso Herrera and Ben Daniels) who investigate cases of demonic possession.

The first season is a great tie-in to the events of the movie and thoughtfully tells the story of the consequences faced by the now adult Regan MacNeil (played by the great Geena Davis) after making a deal with Pazuzu to save her daughter, but what turned out to be another horror and suffering. The second season, according to fans, was even more intense as it was disconnected from the main events and built around new possessions, providing even more haunting sequences focusing on the experiences of the exorcists themselves.

The Series Is Now Free!

Although the critically panned The Exorcist: Believer was distributed by Universal Pictures, the hype surrounding it led to The Exorcist series being added to Tubi, a service owned by Fox Corporation. Tubi is a free, ad-supported platform that does not require a subscription. The series was previously available for streaming on Hulu, but to watch both seasons, you must have a subscription starting at $7.99 per month (or take advantage of a seven-day free trial).

Will the series be able to remind us that the franchise is still alive, considering there are two more installments in the works after Believer? Certainly, the writers will have to look at how the show handled the same ideas much better — otherwise the fans will have to demand a third season.