The Exorcist: Believer is a pretty good movie that is filled with lackluster characters and not-quite-developed ideas that may have the viewer walking away thinking about what could have been rather than what it was.  

A half-century ago the original Exorcist helped rewrite the rules of horror and launched thousands of imitators; The Exorcist: Believer tries picking up that mantle, with the lure of 90-year-old Ellen Burstyn reprising her role. That factor elevates an otherwise slow-building film that maintains an acceptable level of creepiness before fumbling through a slightly muddled storyline. The Exorcist: Believer earns points for trying to take the franchise back to its terrifying roots, but a lack of new ideas — and scares — make it a slow start to a new trilogy. 

It’s hard to overlook how shocking the original Exorcist was in 1973. Believer essentially tries to wed those two slight impulses, which leaves the field sort of no man’s land in terms of expectation of modern horror and honoring its roots. 

Since the death of his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake 12 years ago, Victor Fielding has raised their daughter, Angela on his own. But when Angela and her friend Katherine 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 evil and seek out the only person alive who has witnessed anything like it before. 

This movie, especially the first half, was good enough if you can put the original out of your mind and expectation level. There was a lot of decent acting going on, especially when the girls were possessed – their physicality was incredibly believable. The second half felt much more forced and left a lot lacking. Hopefully, the remainder of the planned trilogy will pick up the pace.