“The Exorcist” franchise returns to theaters 50 years after the original film. It fails to compare where it can’t compete. The original was such a trailblazer and is still a strong movie today. David Gordon Green’s try at the franchise is extremely forgettable.

Green’s latest installment to the franchise serves as a direct continuation of the 1973 film, ignoring the other four in the series. In 2021, Universal Studios bought the rights to the franchise for the devilish price of an estimated $400 Million. This, compared to the $27 Million made from opening week is underwhelming.

“The Exorcist: Believer” serves as the first film in a new expected trilogy. Due to the poor response from critics and audiences, it’s hard to imagine Universal greenlighting the following two movies but only time will tell.

This movie feels like a far cry from its original counterpart. When it comes to remakes or soft reboots, you need a strong trust from fans you won’t ignore its predecessor. Green should know this by now, considering the response to his “Halloween” franchise reboot.

This movie stars Lidya Jewett and Olivia O’Neill as two childhood friends who become victim to the demon of this film. These girls performed great considering they don’t have many lines outside of being possessed. They were as scary as they could be given how lame the script was and how embarrassingly obvious the scares were. The original film stared Linda Blair as Regan McNeal, a young girl possessed by the demon, Puzuzu. This film could have done so much with the demon and it’s dynamic against two bodies but failed to make it interesting.

There is no real correlation from this movie to the original and the plot feels spoon-fed to the audience. We do have returning characters, but they are hardly utilized and seem to only be there for the sake of returning fans. The actual Exorcism act of the film feels rushed and unsatisfying as the big climax.

In all, the only frighting thing about this movie was how bad it was. Hopefully Universal can revive the franchise again at their next attempt with “The Exorcist: Deceiver.”