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Gladiator II doesn't do enough to set itself apart from the original. It justifies its existence but could have been better.
Posted in: Movies, Review | Tagged: blumhouse, david gordon green, The Exorcist: Believer, universal
The Exorcist: Believer Has A Message, If You Want To Hear It {Review}
The Exorcist: Believer is a solid, entertaining sequel to the iconic original, but falls short of being a new classic.
The Exorcist: Believer is arguably the biggest horror release on the 2023 calendar, and fresh off his Halloween trilogy, director David Gordon Green once again is trying to breathe new life into a classic. Your mileage may vary on if he was successful with Michael Myers, and his vision of The Exorcist has a lot in common with those films. The message he is trying to convey is more heavy-handed than he would like, but the execution is top notch, and he accomplishes the impossible in most people's eyes, making a solid, quality sequel to the original, iconic first film.
The Exorcist For A New Generation
The Exorcist was not high on most horror fans' list of franchises that needed to come back, as besides the original, the sequels over the years have left a lot to be desired (though part 3 has become a cult favorite). Nevertheless, this is the era of IP and something as iconic and important as the 1973 first film. Enter Green, who is certain to put his own stamp on whatever he touches usually, but here shows some restraint. Clear respect is felt for the material, and gone are the beats of humor most complained about in his three Halloween films. This is a more lean, serious Green, one that seems spooked by the subject matter himself.
But that restraint also comes with its own issues. The message of the film becomes muddied in the third act, as so many ideas about religious studies and rituals become a weird blob on screen that it becomes difficult to tell which characters are truly helping the situation. There are a lot of racial undertones in the film that it feels like it walks right up to the edge with and almost makes a bold choice to follow, but then takes the last exit ramp before he gets there. Right from when the two girls go missing, it is clear where the characters on screen want to place the blame, and Green starts to unfold an interesting narrative based around people using religion as a weapon that brings out the worst in people, smiling while they do it. But the second half of the film walks that back a bit. Though his wrath is not held back on other subjects of religion, selfishness, and how the beliefs and practices of certain religious groups seldom go hand in hand.
What rescues the film from the middle is the cast. This is the most talented group of performers Green has had at his disposal, and he picked the perfect star. Leslie Odom, Jr. oozes a calm cool for almost the full film, until he just can't take it anymore and let's loose in the final act. When faced with an impossible choice, multiple times even, he remains unshaken when others in the film crumble. Equally as good are our two new possessed young women, Lidya Jewett and newcomer Olivia O'Neill. Both are excellent in what are seriously strenuous roles. The physicality or the roles are not too much for them, and each performance gets better as they descend further and further into madness. Ellen Burstyn gets down in the mud in her return to The Exorcist universe, bringing a smile to your face the moment she arrives right through her final scene in the film. And Ann Dowd is her usual brilliant self as Odom's neighbor. As an ensemble, this is as good as a horror film could hope for.
This does not feel like the kick-off to a new trilogy of films, though one could take the ending as a start to a still unfolding story. If this is a success and he does get to play in this sandbox some more, here is hoping we get a David Gordon Green that is a mix between this and Halloween Ends. In that film, he said screw it and went for it, and while some feel he missed completely, there is a growing number that recognizes how experimental he got to be. He needs to dig deeper in the themes he teased with this first film and give us a challenging film that can rival The Exorcist. He made a solid film here, not unlike his other first stab at another horror staple. The roadmap is there, much like after that first Halloween film, the question is if he wants to see it through all the way. He raises some big questions about religion, almost like he is struggling with them himself. Let's hope he finds his answers.
The Exorcist: Believer
6.5/10
David Gordon Green has made a solid and entertaining sequel to the original, iconic film. Unfortunately, he came just a bit short of making something that could stand shoulder to shoulder with it.
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