If you thought David Gordon Green was going to take a break from the horror genre after spearheading Blumhouse’s recent Halloween trilogy, think again. Green reteams with Jason Blum’s production company to put his spin on another storied horror franchise, for yet another planned trilogy. The Exorcist: Believer will serve as a direct sequel to 1973’s possession masterclass The Exorcist, adapted from William Peter Blatty’s novel of the same name — which is precisely how Green tied his Halloweens to Michael Myers’ legacy. As you might gather from the new trailer that just dropped, Green’s wasting no time reuniting franchise fans with familiar faces, and plunging them into unholy frights that reckon with demonic intervention.
While some might be tempted to assume Green might mimic his blueprint from Halloween, Halloween Kills, and Halloween Ends, that’s not his intention. It’s a whole new ballgame switching modes from seasonal slasher to religious psychological thriller territory. “It’s not an Easter Eggy movie,” assures Green. “I had a lot of fun seeing what some of the old cast were up to [in Halloween], and making callbacks to all of the Halloween movies.” Green assured us that “The Exorcist isn’t that type of fun,” referring to the campiness of slasher kills and body counts in Halloween that won’t translate to his vision for The Exorcist: Believer and beyond. “The Exorcist is more academic and psychologically horrific,” which Green notes is a major reason why he jumped right into another horror franchise after spending years with Michael Myers.
Green cites 1973’s The Exorcist as an influential horror film that left quite an impression on his childhood self. “I wasn't particularly looking to continue in horror,” he explained. “I’d said a lot in three films and was contemplating what comes next — but [The Exorcist] was too amazing of an opportunity to pass up.” Other movies from the filmmaker, like Undertow and Joe, show Green as a writer and director who loves complex characters dealing with extreme scenarios, which plays right into his approach toward The Exorcist: Believer. “We could exercise new muscles, try something different, and utilize our drama tools in horror environments.”
Even though Green is sidestepping The Exorcist sequels and only recognizing the canon of William Friedkin’s defining horror classic, that’s not to say this new trilogy will be a total retcon. “We’re not dismissing the other sequels, there’s just not a real relationship.” When asked about the passage of time between films and if the original’s demon Pazuzu would return, Green confirmed, “We use a new demon, no Pazuzu. We feature a demon who studied demonologists might know.” The Exorcist: Believer will follow in the footsteps of Friedkin and Blatty, living in a realm of theologically thrilling ambiguity that emphasizes the psychological mind games played between priests and devils. “Our film asks some questions, gives some answers, but doesn’t spell it all out.”
What is clear is that The Exorcist: Believer will feature returning characters — or at least one big return in Regan MacNeil’s mother, Ellen Burstyn as Chris MacNeil. According to Green, Burstyn’s inclusion was a major reason as to why he even took the gig. “What I was really moved by was the mother-daughter story and bringing that up to speed, up to date, and bringing Chris MacNeil back after so many years.” Burstyn is an Oscar-winning legend of the stage and screen who any filmmaker would leap to cast; it was an opportunity too monumental for Green to pass over. “I had an idea I was really passionate about for her character 50 years later to collaborate on,” he says. We see this touched upon in the trailer as she’s dragged back into another possession case, this time with two schoolgirls as victims. Flashes of Chris’ memoir and interview clips on YouTube suggest she’s become somewhat of a celebrity professional on the subject. Green couldn’t hold back his excitement when detailing where this story will go: “How could you not take advantage of that moment and use that as an opportunity to learn and grow with her?”
Speaking to the larger cast, Leslie Odom Jr. takes the role of a father whose daughter is no longer in control of her body. “I’m looking at a Hamilton playbill right now and his character couldn’t be further from that,” says Green of the actor who first made an impression on audiences as Aaron Burr in that musical. Horror isn’t prevalent in Odom Jr.’s career, but that’s precisely why Green wanted to cast the breakout star: “For an audience that’s unsuspecting.” What Odom Jr. brings in dramatic heft as a parent unable to do anything for his doomed child matches that dramatic-first approach that Green mentions as anchoring The Exorcist: Believer. “It was fun for us to talk through what you normally see in horror movies, and what stereotypical characters do, but you’re a father — you’re not in a jump-scare horror movie.” Green teases that Odom Jr.’s character may have lost his spiritual beliefs somewhere throughout his life, and now must reckon with unbelievable forces to save his daughter from eternal damnation. In both Burstyn and Odom Jr.’s characters, the ties of familial devastation — and hopefully salvation — seem strong.
In The Exorcist: Believer trailer, there’s a feeling that Green is playing with multiple horror subgenres. Surveillance footage of disappearing students feels very true crime, a bloodied possessed girl walks down a church aisle mocking the clergy straight out of an exorcism playbook, plus wicked shots of the demon-possessed girls like they’re expert scare actors in a haunted house. “It doesn’t always work, but when I approach new projects, I try to incorporate things I was horrified by as a child,” he says. In addition to the experience of viewing The Exorcist as a young moviegoer, Green brought in story elements he saw in Arkansas and Texas headlines. “There are true crime and psychological elements, things that got under my skin as a kid at 13-14 years old. Something that really transformed me emotionally that was part of my upbringing, that I lived through.”
Not only that, but Green wants to avoid the sins of exorcism cinema past. “I’m not excited about the cliches of exorcism movies — I’m more interested in the questions filmmakers ask, and how they go about telling those stories.” Green mentions subgenre favorites like The Exorcism of Emily Rose, but stresses his intention to ensure The Exorcist: Believer feels fresh when compared to the landscape of The Exorcist copycats that have flooded the market over the years. “I didn’t want this to be a movie I was fabricating a lot of mythology for,” he tells us. “[We aimed for] less popcorn entertainment, and more researched, emotionally triggering storytelling.” Green admits it was a challenge trying not to go too over the top because, after all, The Exorcist: Believer is a supernatural tale. But he wanted to leave the “humor” and slasher-silliness of Halloween behind.
With that mindset, Green unlocked the beginning of his trilogy in The Exorcist: Believer. By the looks of the trailer, this “synchronized possession” flick packs double-trouble in terms of possession frights that are worth their weight in religious blasphemy. Not only that, but Green is opening the world to “outside” (read: non-Christian) methods of demon expulsion throughout countless other cultures. “There are a variety of spiritual and religious perspectives [in other] communities. Most familiar to an American audience would be the Roman Rite Catholic perspective on exorcisms, but added to that are everything from clinical diagnosis to homeopathic techniques, or Baptist approaches,” he explains. With a variety of characters comes a variety of beliefs and traditions, which may just be the secret ingredient that sets Green’s trilogy apart.
