The Exorcist was one of the best horror films of the ‘70s that caused audiences to flock out of theaters in bone-chilling fear. It’s a shame that the movies that followed didn’t have the same effect considering what critical flops they all were. This is all the more reason why The Exorcist: Believer director David Gordon Green chose to ignore the franchise’s past sequels.
When you look at all five of The Exorcist movies, none of the sequels hold a candle to one of the best horror films William Friedkin scared audiences with. So you can understand David Gordon Green’s reasoning why he decided for The Exorcist: Believer to pretend the franchise’s sequels didn’t exist. He spoke more elaborately to NME about why he thought that was the best decision for his new Exorcist trilogy.
I rewatched Exorcist II and it’s totally bonkers. So if I had to deal with a narrative that congested, but also in some ways bombastically brilliant, I just didn’t know what to do with it. It’s an art film and it’s bizarre. I’m trying to keep my take on the franchise grounded, relatable, and practical in its effects and understandable in its narrative. If it [Exorcist II] was just called Boorman Goes Bonkers, I would love it.
It’s a good way of looking at it. If you want to revitalize the horror franchise with a new trilogy, it helps to start off fresh on a clean slate. Plus, no one will have to subject themselves to watching the critically panned sequels to prepare themselves for what’s to come with Exorcist: Believer. The original Exorcist sequels have Rotten scores that have gone as high as 58% to as low as 9% from Exorcist II: The Heretic. This particular sequel is considered one of the worst movies ever made where reports said audiences were actually laughing at the movie during the premiere! Even The Exorcist’s William Friedkin’s reaction to the second movie had him calling it “ridiculous and stupid” as well as the worst movie he's ever seen. So, you can understand why Green decided to scrap this movie and the others that followed for his trilogy.
Sadly for David Gordon Green, his Exorcist: Believer sequel fell into a line of negatively received sequels to include in the franchise. While it achieved number one at the weekend box office, it didn’t hit box office expectations of $30 million. Critics also had mixed opinions on the new Exorcist sequel. Many felt disappointed that those feelings of terror the 1973 film brought to audiences were not achieved with the first of the horror trilogy. They would have liked to have seen more risks being taken with the scary narrative of dual possessions compared to the downplayed decisions that were chosen. It’s a real shame that Green’s newest film got a negative reception because his reasoning for making sequels to classic horror films had good intentions of wanting them to be done with respect towards the originals.
Despite The Exorcist: Believer getting slammed by the critics and experiencing not-so-impressive box office numbers, the trilogy is still going forward as the $400 million rights to the trilogy have already been bought. But, the sequels might make a major change in terms of direction. David Gordon Green said he’s not flat-out refusing to be in the director’s chair for The Exorcist: Deceiver, but he’s not centering his career around it. If any projects were to come his way before its 2025 release date, he’d prioritize those first. THR also reported that even though there’s been a completed script for Deceiver, “a creative rethink for the next two films” will have to be in place. Hopefully, that means the opinions of critics and audiences will be considered for the rest of the trilogy.
The Exorcist: Believer may have suffered a rough start for the ongoing trilogy, but David Gordon made the right decision to ignore the past sequels. There’s still a chance for the trilogy to rectify itself with new creative decisions before the April 2025 release date of Deceiver. For now, you can see The Exorcist: Believer in theaters and will eventually head to your Peacock subscription. Feel free to explore our 2023 movie releases to be in the know of upcoming horror films.
