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The Exorcist Believer, is the Legacy Sequel a Worthy Successor?

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Fifty years has passed since the original film had audiences walking out of their showings and had them reinforcing their faith. Director David Gordon Green and co-writer Danny McBride are fresh off their Halloween trilogy which has some mixed reviews but concluding the Jamie Lee Curtis timeline was rewarding for fans of the original film. Now the duo goes from the most success horror franchise ever to the scariest.

The Exorcist Believer revolves around the disappearance of two young girls. Mystery surrounds their return while supernatural events begin occurring in the days after. What David Gordon Green does best is build the tension in his films which most horror films tend to skip over and replace with your usual jump scares. Something he also succeeded at with his Halloween trilogy. In this regard, his film feels like a horror film from the good old days.

The first half of the film is near perfect. With performances from stars such as Leslie Odom Jr. and the rest of the supporting cast setting up the eerie plot while the musical score elevates every scene beautifully. Ellen Burstyn is a welcoming addition to the story. Her presence feels genuine. Had she been shoehorned in, this half would fall apart completely. Where the film struggles is where even the original had some issues, the exorcism itself.

I say the original struggled due to the fact that there is no blueprint to how this should go. How long it should last, how to depict when we’ve accomplished what needs to be done, or how to keep audiences engaged while reciting Bible verses for what seems like an eternity. The latest film has some interesting elements such as bringing together people from different faiths and backgrounds that all have ideas on how to confront this evil. It’s quite an intriguing premise which makes sense as you begin to understand every culture has written stories about similar situations.

In some cultures it is said that pregnant women are asked for a blessing from Pazuzu for protection. No doubt a nod that was made in the opening scene of the film. While the community battling the demon is an intriguing idea, it never fulfills its potential. The visuals are done well enough but the film needed more action but again, how does one achieve this within an exorcism? That is the challenge. The second half mildly works but the momentum from the first half definitely had subsided.

Many attempts at a worthy sequel have been made but two things are for sure…what scared audiences in 1973 isn’t the same today and to reach that level of horror isn’t possible with modern audiences. The Exorcist Believer can still be considered a success regardless.

Ted aka Steady is the Editor in Chief of the Countdown City Geeks. He has covered some of the largest pop culture events in the world including San Diego Comic-Con and hosted a variety of events from eSports Tourneys, film festivals, to moderating panels at conventions.

Movie Reviews

Transformers One brings the laughs and expands the lore in all the best ways possible – Review

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Ted aka Steady and David caught an early screening for Transformers One. Hear their non-spoiler thoughts and be sure to check out the movie when it drops on September 20th!

TRANSFORMERS ONE is the untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever. In the first-ever fully CG-animated Transformers movie, TRANSFORMERS ONE features a star-studded voice cast, including Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi with Laurence Fishburne and Jon Hamm.


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Beetlejuice mania takes over San Antonio for the SA premiere – Review

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It has been 36 years since Michael Keaton haunted the Deetz family in the first Beetlejuice film, and now the ghost with the most is back to wreak havoc once again. See the sights and sounds from the San Antonio premiere as well as our non-spoiler review of the film.

Keaton returns to his iconic role alongside Oscar nominee Winona Ryder (Stranger Things, Little Women) as Lydia Deetz and two-time Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara (Schitt$ Creek, The Nightmare Before Christmas) as Delia Deetz, with new cast members Justin Theroux (Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, The Leftovers), Monica Bellucci (Spectre, The Matrix films), Arthur Conti (House of the Dragon) in his feature film debut, with Emmy nominee Jenna Ortega (Wednesday, Scream VI) as Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, and Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe (Poor Things, At Eternity’s Gate).

Beetlejuice is back! After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened. With trouble brewing in both realms, it’s only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.

Burton, a genre unto himself, directs from a screenplay by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar (Wednesday), story by Gough & Millar and Seth Grahame-Smith (The LEGO® Batman Movie), based on characters created by Michael McDowell & Larry Wilson. The film’s producers are Marc Toberoff, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tommy Harper and Burton, with Sara Desmond, Katterli Frauenfelder, Gough, Millar, Brad Pitt, Larry Wilson, Laurence Senelick, Pete Chiappetta, Andrew Lary, Anthony Tittanegro, Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg executive producing.

Burton’s creatives behind the scenes includes director of photography Haris Zambarloukos (Meg 2: The Trench, Murder on the Orient Express); such previous and frequent collaborators as production designer Mark Scruton (Wednesday), editor Jay Prychidny (Wednesday), Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood (Alice in Wonderland, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Sleepy Hollow), Oscar-winning creature effects and special makeup FX creative supervisor Neal Scanlan (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and Oscar-nominated composer Danny Elfman (Big Fish, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman); and Oscar-winning hair and makeup designer Christine Blundell (Topsy-Turvy).

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‘Twisters’ leads Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones look to dominate the box office this weekend – Review

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TWISTERS drops this weekend, and we were lucky enough to catch an early glimpse of the movie. Hear our non spoilery thoughts on the film and just how good are Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones as leads, we discuss that too.



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