David Gordon Green’s The Exorcist trailer has landed online today after debuting in theatres over the weekend and we can share it with you officially today.
Since the death of his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake 12 years ago, Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom, Jr.) has raised their daughter, Angela (Lidya Jewett, Good Girls) on his own.
But when Angela and her friend Katherine (Olivia Marcum), disappear in the woods, only to return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, it unleashes a chain of events that will force Victor to confront the nadir of evil and, in his terror and desperation, seek out the only person alive who has witnessed anything like it before.
This weekend a blurry in-cinema video was released online of The Exorcist trailer and after my anger subsided that people are still doing this in cinemas I refused to watch it and wait until the official trailer was released online.
Today I was sent the full trailer and was able to enjoy it properly because what I saw in this blurry illegally shot video wasn’t impressing me whatsoever. Thankfully this full trailer is better but I still have my reservations.
The original Exorcist worked because it was just one innocent young girl and we got to see the devil eating away at her and it made for gripping viewing material. Nothing had been released ever quite like it and it was the perfect piece of horror cinema.
Fast forward to 2023 and with strong ‘they shouldn’t have touched this movie’ vibes I shuddered when I saw that not one but two girls are now possessed together in this movie.
I have no idea why this decision was made but throughout the trailer there are some creepy scenes that work with the duo such as their heartbeats synched up as though they are being controlled by the same entity. That was cool, but for the most part I struggle to see how this film will carry itself with two focal points rather than one.
It’s hard enough for people these days to watch an entire cinema and stay off their phones for longer than 10 minutes let alone pay attention to two possessed girls on screen.
Ellen Burstyn is reprising her role from William Friedkin’s original 70s classic as she comes to the aid of this new cast with a new problem with similar ties to her experiences of the past.
Much like Laurie Strode in Gordon Green’s Halloween trilogy, Burstyn’s Chris MacNeil is coming to the aid of a new group of characters here in 2023. And this first official trailer for The Exorcist: Believer reveals that not one but TWO young women are possessed by a demonic entity this time around, doubling up on Friedkin’s approach in the iconic original.
Seeing Morgan Creek pop up as the production company was quite a surprise as they’ve been quiet for a good 5 years now with the Tupac Biopic All Eyez on Me being their last film slate involvement. But then I remembered they worked on Exorcist III and it all started to make sense with I believe the Exorcist franchise along with Ace Ventura, Major League and Young Guns under their wing for remake and TV rights.
The film also stars Emmy winner Ann Dowd (The Handmaid’s Tale, Hereditary) as Victor and Angela’s neighbor, and Grammy winner Jennifer Nettles (Harriet, The Righteous Gemstones) and two-time Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz (Fosse/Verdon, Bloodline) as the parents of Katherine, Angela’s friend.
When The Exorcist, based on the best-selling book by William Peter Blatty, was released, it changed the culture forever, obliterating box office records and earning 10 Academy Award® nominations, becoming the first horror film ever nominated for Best Picture.
The Exorcist: Believer is directed by David Gordon Green from a screenplay by Peter Sattler (Camp X-Ray) and David Gordon Green, from a story by Scott Teems (Halloween Kills), Danny McBride (Halloween trilogy) and David Gordon Green, based on characters created by William Peter Blatty.
It’s been 18 years since The Exorcist was on the big screen with the release of Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist in cinemas. It’ll be great to see it on a big screen once again I just really hope they do it justice, it’s a large weight to bear and I have everything crossed that they will do it justice.
The one thing that’s making me somewhat hesitant is the team behind it are the same team which did the recent Halloween trilogy and we all know what reception that got…
Check out the official trailer for David Gordon Green’s The Exorcist Believer below:
