DVD Corner

The Exorcist: Believer 4K UHD Review

“The Exorcist: Believer” is a total rush job.

“The Exorcist: Believer” is the sixth installment in the horror franchise. This time around the story revolves around two young girls (Angela and Katherine) who become possessed by a demon, but let’s backtrack a bit. The primary story involves a single father of Angela named Victor (Leslie Odom Jr.) who is struggling in life. He lost his wife while she was giving birth to Angela which has broken his faith and spirit. When Angela and her friend Katherine go off to the woods to perform a seance to contact Angela’s late mother, all hell breaks loose. The two girls become possessed and Victor desperately tries to seek help outside of medical help (which has done nothing). He reaches out to someone with experience in this matter- Regan’s mother Chris and eventually plots to have an exorcism done to try and save both girls.

After helming the much maligned “Halloween Ends,” director David Gordon Green hops over to another horror franchise with “The Exorcist.” Universal paid a reported $400 million for the rights to  a planned Exorcist trilogy and if the first installment is any indication, the deal was certainly not justified. Talk about putting the cart before the horse. 

David Gordon Green (who co-wrote the script alongside Peter Sattler) attempts to create a sequel that mixes old and new elements. He includes two legacy characters with Chris (Ellen Burstyn) and SPOILER FOR THE WORST KEPT SECRET Regan (Linda Blair) END SPOILER while also telling a new story about choices, faith, loss, parenthood, and yes, double possessions. The first half-hour starts out promising enough with a proper set-up, a creepy atmosphere, and some solid characterization for the core characters, but the story quickly falls apart. The legacy characters are shoehorned into the story and are tragically wasted, there’s a strange overabundance of characters (particularly in the final act) who are entirely one-dimensional, the CGI inclusions are nothing short of dreadful, and the story beats are overly choreographed. You’re left wanting more and not in a good way. 

On the plus side, praise is definitely in order for the makeup team and for Lidya Jewett (Angela) and Olivia O’Neill (Katherine) who are spectacular. You really believed their transformations from normal young girls to demonically possessed girls. They are the best part of the entire movie to be sure. 

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.85:1 2160p. How does it look? The 4K disc provides rich colors.

Audio Track: Dolby Atmos. How does it sound? A thoroughly effective Atmos track.

Extras:
* Blu-ray copy
* Digital copy
* Commentary by David Gordon Green, producer Ryan Turek, writer Peter Sattler and special makeup FX designer Christopher Nelson
* “Making A Believer”- A general featurette about this new movie which contains behind-the-scenes footage, interviews (primarily with David Gordon Green), Ellen Burstyn’s return, and film clips.
* “Ellen And Linda: Reunited”- Spoiler alert- This is all about the big scene in the end.
* “Stages Of Possession” is all about the makeup work.
* “The Opening” covers the opening Haiti sequence..
* “Editing An Exorcism” centers around the editing of the climactic exorcism sequence.
* “Matters Of Faith”- A featurette on religion, Priests, rituals, etc.

December 18, 2023 - Posted by nicklyons1 | 4K UHD Review | Ellen Burstyn, horror, Horror Movie, Possession Movie, Regan, The Exorcist, The Exorcist: Believer 4K UHD Review