{"id":2056550,"date":"2023-10-05T13:37:01","date_gmt":"2023-10-05T17:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/strong-performances-cant-revive-new-woke-exorcist-franchise-extension\/"},"modified":"2023-10-05T13:41:49","modified_gmt":"2023-10-05T17:41:49","slug":"strong-performances-cant-revive-new-woke-exorcist-franchise-extension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/strong-performances-cant-revive-new-woke-exorcist-franchise-extension\/","title":{"rendered":"New &#8216;Exorcist&#8217; Franchise Extension Fails Despite Strong Performances"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fstrong-performances-cant-revive-new-woke-exorcist-franchise-extension%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2056550&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Remember the scariest \u2062movie \u200cfrom your\u2064 childhood? Chances are it\u2019s \u201cThe Exorcist.\u201d<\/h2>\n<p>The 1973 classic starred Ellen\u200d Burstyn\u200c as \u200ca \u2062mom trying to save her daughter Regan (Linda Blair) from demonic \u200dpossession.<\/p>\n<p>Heads spin. Pea soup flies. \u200bThe power \u2062of Christ compels you to\u200c watch\u200c it every Halloween.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Now, \u2063we\u2019re getting yet \u2062another film in the \u201cExorcist\u201d\u2062 saga \u2014 this, after\u2064 two other \u201cExorcist\u201d projects fell so far under the radar\u2062 they barely merit a mention. \u2064There\u2062 was the forgettable \u20641977 sequel \u200dand a\u200d shockingly effective third go-round in 1990 starring George C. Scott.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The new sequel, as you\u2064 might predict, is \u200dboth unnecessary\u200d and ultimately woke.<\/p>\n<p>The\u2063 good news? Burstyn returns for \u201cThe \u200bExorcist: Believer,\u201d brought to \u200bus by the same folks who rebooted \u201cHalloween\u201d in 2018, Blumhouse \u2064Productions.<\/p>\n<p>Leslie Odom, Jr. of \u201cHamilton\u201d fame plays Victor, a single father\u200c who enjoys a close, and meaningful bond with his pre-teen daughter \u200cAngela \u200d(Lidya Jewett). The girl\u200b meets with a fellow \u200bclassmate one fateful afternoon, and the duo goes missing for three \u2064days.<\/p>\n<p>When \u200cthey return, \u2063they begin to act differently, and painful scars appear on their bodies.\u2064 Why, it\u2019s as \u200cif\u2063 something demonic\u200b took over\u200b their souls.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Victor dismisses any \u2064such talk \u2063at first, \u2063but when he realizes there may be no other explanation, he \u200creaches\u2064 out to the only person who\u200b might feel\u200b his pain. That\u2019s Burstyn\u2019s Chris MacNeil, who famously battled Beelzebub in the 1973\u200c original.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The first half of \u201cBeliever\u201d is \u200dboth restrained and effective. Odom has serious screen presence, \u200cand director David Gordon\u2063 Green\u2019s days as an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/strong-performances-cant-revive-new-woke-exorcist-franchise-extension\/\" title=\"New 'Exorcist' Franchise Extension Fails Despite Strong Performances\">indie film darling roar \u2062back<\/a> with positive results.\u200d The visual \u200bcues start to stack up, and Green\u2019s knack with his young cast members makes their pain palpable.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s eerie that \u2064Angela\u2019s\u200b friend Katherine (Olivia O\u2019Neill) looks like a young Blair \u2013 \u2063hardly a coincidence.<\/p>\n<p>So we have not one\u2064 but two possessed children, and \u200dwe all \u2064know what happens next. Except \u2062we\u2019ve seen exorcism after exorcism on screen since \u200cthe 1973 original, and no film has measured up to its excellence.<\/p>\n<p>Add \u201cBeliever\u201d to\u200d the list. But that\u2019s not the only bad news.<\/p>\n<p>The film\u2019s third act\u2063 is a mess, neither scary \u2063nor spiritually significant. In fact, the sequel has\u200c a beef with the faith behind the original masterpiece. The Catholic Church.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Mild Spoilers Ahead:<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>The Church refuses to help Victor and Katherine\u2019s parents (one-dimensional Christians), referring the matter to\u200b psychiatric professionals.<\/p>\n<p>Talk about cutting a franchise \u2063off at the knees. It\u2019s like making a new\u2062 James Bond \u2063movie and having him reject \u200dboth\u2063 the Crown \u200dand \u200cMI-6 entirely.<\/p>\n<p>The attempt\u200d to save the poor girls \u2063turns\u200d into a \u200dKumbaya \u200daffair, with different faiths gathering\u2064 to beat the demon back. It takes a village to \u2063exorcise your children, apparently.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re\u200b even \u2064treated to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/media-celebrates-absurd-charade-of-women-playing-football-against-men\/\" title=\"Media glorifies farcical spectacle of women competing against men in football.\">girl power \u200bmoment<\/a> where a secondary \u200bfemale character steps in to save the\u200b day\u200c when\u2062 a man refuses to do the job.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s at least different than the 1973 version, but it\u2019s neither frightening nor sensible.\u2064 The detour also deconstructs the powerful good versus evil narratives that anchored the first \u201cExorcist\u201d film.<\/p>\n<p>Who needs God when you\u2019ve got a \u2064can\u2019t miss IP (Intellectual Property). Producer Jason Blum, notorious for keeping film budgets as low as \u2062possible, reportedly shelled out \u200c$400 million for\u2063 the rights to \u201cThe Exorcist\u201d franchise.<\/p>\n<p>Yikes.<\/p>\n<p>The \u2064film\u2019s setup avoids the \u201cwoke mind \u200cvirus\u201d entirely at first. We\u2019re lulled into a\u2062 false sense of \u200csecurity. To\u2063 paraphrase Admiral Ackbar\u2062 from \u201cReturn of the \u200cJedi\u201d \u2063\u2014 \u201cIt\u2019s a trap!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That spell is shattered when Chris is asked why she wasn\u2019t\u2063 allowed in the room all those \u2064years ago\u2063 when two male priests battled\u2063 to save Regan\u2019s\u2064 soul.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt \u200cmust have been\u200b the\u200d patriarchy,\u201d she mutters, which might be the clunkiest sequence on \u200dscreen this year. Or next.<\/p>\n<p>The \u206290-year-old\u2062 Burstyn still brings a welcome \u200dheft to the proceedings, her presence \u200dsoftening the\u2064 vehicle\u2019s cash-grab DNA. The screenplay, by Green and \u2062Peter Sattler, doesn\u2019t know what to \u2062do with\u200b Chris, sadly, shackling her with a silly \u2062encounter with her old nemesis.<\/p>\n<p>Why\u2063 bother \u2064inviting a Hollywood legend back \u200dto the franchise if \u200dyou can\u2019t give her\u200c anything \u2062meaty\u2062 to\u200b chew on?<\/p>\n<p>Woke helps explain why \u201cThe Exorcist: Believer\u201d plays \u200bdown the Catholic faith and puts both character \u2064diversity and multiple religions front and center.<\/p>\n<p>We can\u2019t celebrate Catholicism in \u20642023,\u200c and to risk\u200c doing\u2062 so\u2063 might offend other religions.<\/p>\n<p>So we \u2064get a cultural stew, one that adds \u2064little to the film\u2019s dramatic weight.\u2064 Had the\u200b story taken its \u200bspiritual cues from the effective prologue, set during a Haitian earthquake, we\u2064 might\u200b have had a fresh cultural spin \u200bon good vs. evil.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s\u200d not the case.<\/p>\n<p>The recent\u2062 \u201cNefarious\u201d\u2062 featured a far more \u2063captivating battle between good and evil, powered not by special effects\u2063 but a strong \u2064script and a killer turn by Sean Patrick Flanery.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing in \u201cBeliever\u201d comes \u200cclose.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019d forgive plenty if the battle for\u200b the girls\u2019 souls brought something terrifying to the\u200d table. Instead, \u2063it\u2019s a hodge-podge \u2064of warmed-over scares with\u2063 a predictable nod to \u200bthe original\u2019s signature twist.<\/p>\n<p>Ooh, another\u2062 Easter \u2064Egg! That\u2019s great for memes\u200b but hardly the stuff of\u200b nightmares.<\/p>\n<p>The only\u200b thing scary about \u2064\u201cThe Exorcist: Believer\u201d is that the studio has more sequels in the works.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/onelink.to\/dwapp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CLICK HERE TO \u2063GET THE DAILY WIRE APP<\/a><\/p>\n<p><i>Christian Toto is an\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/star-of-new-pro-life-movie-says-pro-choice-screen-actors-guild-attempted-to-crush-their-production\/\" title=\"Star Of New Pro-Life Movie Says Pro-Choice Screen Actors Guild Attempted To Crush Their Production\">award-winning journalist<\/a>, movie critic and editor of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HollywoodInToto.com<\/a>. He previously served as associate\u2064 editor with Breitbart News\u2019 Big Hollywood. Follow him \u2064at <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HollywoodInToto?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@HollywoodInToto<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>The views \u200dexpressed\u2064 in\u200b this\u200c piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The\u200d Daily Wire.<\/i><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> In what ways do \u200cthe performances in\u2063 &#8220;The Exorcist: Believer&#8221; fail to salvage the weak script? How does this affect the overall \u200bengagement and\u2064 captivation of the narrative<\/h2>\n<p><span>  \u2062Ounter\u2064 that has no bearing on the story.<\/p>\n<p>The horror genre\u2064 has always been a reflection \u200cof societal fears and anxieties.\u2063 And while it\u2019s important for films to evolve and adapt to the changing times, \u201cThe Exorcist: Believer\u201d does so \u2062in a clumsy and heavy-handed way. It tries to be \u200bsocially relevant \u2064and progressive, but ultimately falls flat.<\/p>\n<p>Aside from its problematic messaging, the film also suffers from a lack of genuine\u2062 scares. The horror elements feel stale and\u2063 predictable, lacking the intensity and innovation of the original. It relies too heavily on jump scares and cheap shock\u2063 value, rather than building a truly terrifying atmosphere.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, \u200bthe performances, although \u2063commendable, can only do so \u2062much to salvage the weak script. Odom and Jewett exhibit genuine chemistry as father and daughter, but their talents are wasted in a narrative that fails\u200c to engage and captivate.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, \u201cThe Exorcist: Believer\u201d is a disappointing addition to the iconic franchise. It \u200bfails\u2062 to \u2064live\u2063 up to the legacy of its predecessor and falls short in its attempts to introduce fresh \u200cideas and perspectives. If you&#8217;re looking for a \u200ctruly terrifying and thought-provoking horror film, it&#8217;s best to revisit the original \u201cExorcist\u201d\u200d and leave this unnecessary sequel behind.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps it\u2019s time for Hollywood \u200bto rethink their obsession with rebooting and \u2064extending long-dormant franchises. Sometimes, the scariest\u2062 thing is\u200b not the supernatural entities on screen, but the lack of originality and creativity in the film industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;The Exorcist,&#8221; a 1973 classic, remains the scariest movie from childhood memories. Ellen Burstyn portrays a determined mother, fighting to rescue her possessed daughter Regan (Linda Blair). With spinning heads and flying pea soup, this Halloween, let the power of Christ compel you to revisit this terrifying masterpiece.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":279,"featured_media":2056551,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2056550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2056550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/279"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2056550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2056550\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2056551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2056550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2056550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2056550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}