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We probably dont talk enough about what a bizarre series theExorcistfilms have turned out to be.
The franchise is a case study in the perils of massive initial success.
Then things got interesting.
That one wasnt well liked, either, though time has been kinder to it.
Then came thetruly weird tale of the fourth picture.
So there are nowtwoseparate fourthExorcistmovies, very different and somehow both starring Stellan Skarsgard.
Which brings us toDavid Gordon Green, director ofThe Exorcist: Believer.
Ones view of Green will surely change depending on which side of the career prism theyre looking through.
Perhaps theyre right, but the evidence often suggests otherwise.
His firstHalloweenpicture was a solid, serious attempt to advance the mood of John Carpenters originals.
It was far from perfect, but it felt more like a David Gordon Green picture than aHalloweenpicture.
We then fast-forward to Victor and his 13-year-old daughter Angela (Lidya Jewett) living in Percy, Georgia.
The girls are found three days later, but something has clearly changed in them.
Thus begin the creepy utterances, the seizures, the sudden appearances in church covered in blood and shrieking.
Instead, Green (and co-screenwriter Danny McBride, a regular collaborator) tries to conjure situational fear.
Those looking for standard genre thrills will probably be disappointed by these early scenes.
I was enraptured by them, as Green and McBride establish a mood of believable dread.
One can see what Green is trying to do here.
Think of how well we remember details fromThe Exorcist: lines, gestures, effects, Pazuzu.
Thats because Friedkin took everything at face value and focused on the specifics of what he was shooting.
I sawBelieverthree days ago, and I barely remember anything from its exorcism scenes.
This wouldnt be a problem if they didnt take up pretty much the entire back half of the movie.
In a way, it would be appropriate if there were.
